Misconceptions
by Starlighteyez
Summary: Nobody says how they really feel. Nobody acts the way they really act. Except for maybe two Degrassi students, and even they aren't completely truthful. EllieSean.
1. Possibility of Change

Sean scowled as he looked around the school in disgust. Come to think of it, he had been scowling a lot since he broke up with . . . Sean shook his head and put on his headphones to rid his mind of Emma. *Everyone thinks that you should just be who you are. But the moment you take off that mask that you've worn for so long, the people around you realize they don't like who you really are. They want you to go back to the person they've grown accustomed to. But you can't. No matter how hard you try, you can't go back to being someone you're not. You've outgrown the mask. So, you have to outgrow your friends. * Sean's thoughts were interrupted as he spotted Jay walking out of the school building. He jerked his head toward the car, motioning for Sean to get in. Sean hopped into the backseat as Jay got into the passenger's side. Almost as soon as they were in, the driver took off.  
  
Craig sat outside of Degrassi on the chilly January afternoon. He was eating lunch with a few of his friends, when he witnessed Sean jump into a car, just as it was about to speed away. He shook his head, then took a bite out of his cheeseburger. He chewed slowly as he thought about how to word the question he was about to ask. He swallowed his food, then asked, "What's the deal with Sean?" *That sounded really thought out! * Craig thought sarcastically to himself. He had been so busy with his own problems, he hadn't noticed Sean's. Or anyone else's, for that matter.  
  
Spinner raised an eyebrow at Craig, "Where have you been? Oh, wait, that's right . . . "By the threatening look on Craig's face, he knew he should shut up. Ashley hadn't told anyone except for Ellie about the . . . incident, because she felt as if it her fault. She also didn't want anyone to feel bad for her. Manny hadn't told anyone because she felt somewhat ashamed for what she did.  
  
Spinner reached over to grab a french fry out of the red basket sitting in front of Paige. She quickly swatted his hand away, and Spinner acted like she had really hurt him. Paige rolled her eyes before focusing her attention back on Craig, "Well, hon, it's like this: Emma, perhaps the love of Sean's life, broke up with him. Or maybe he broke up with her . . . " Paige seemed to argue with herself for a moment until she heard Craig clear his throat impatiently, "Right, anyway, they broke up. Sean started hanging out with Jay and his crew, and things have gone down hill since,"  
  
Paige smiled, and nodded her head in triumph.  
  
Craig looked at her strangely for a second as she placed a fry in her mouth, "Since when did you pay attention to people in lower grades . . . to anyone except yourself?" Craig corrected himself.  
  
Paige opened her mouth in mock shock, then smiled at him, "You have to know the gossip on everyone . . . especially when it's juicy."   
  
Spinner was looking at her in awe, "Ain't she great?"He asked Craig as he kissed Paige on the cheek.  
  
Craig wasn't really paying attention to them. Paige's last comment had gotten to him, "You have to know the gossip on everyone . . . especially when it's juicy." *She knows. She has to know. Spinner must've told her. * His glare shot daggers at Spinner, who was too involved with Paige to notice. *Maybe he didn't. It could just be a coincidence. *  
  
Craig shook the crazy thoughts from his head, but they all came back as he watched a girl in a pair of jeans and a vintage tee walk toward the school building. She was of course accompanied by her best friend with red braided pigtails who was dressed all in black. As they disappeared into the building, Craig thought to himself, *I should talk to Ash before someone else does. * Craig sighed as he thought about how complicated his life had become in the past few months. He knew he didn't love Ashley. He did care for her, but not as much as he cared for Manny. He was afraid of Ashley blaming herself for his mistakes. She acted like she didn't care what people thought about her, but he had seen how insecure she could be at times.  
  
Craig decided to let it all go for now. He cleared his throat loudly so Paige and Spinner both looked up from their 'cute talk', "Spin, so are you and Sean friends?"  
  
Spinner scoffed at him, "Dude, he's only in grade nine."  
  
"You're in grade nine English, and we still hang out with you," Craig retorted, making Spinner's face turn red, and Paige choke on the soda she was drinking, "Look, I'm sorry Spin. But a couple years ago he helped me out, and I think it's about time to return the favor."  
  
Spinner could tell Craig already had a plan, and there was no use in trying to get out of it. He was alleviated when Craig asked, "So do you have plans tonight?"  
  
Spinner let out a sigh of relief as he gladly remembered asking Paige to the movies earlier that day, "Yep, sorry Craig. I'd really like to help you out, but I've got plans with Paige." He put his arm around her shoulders. *I won't have to hang out with that punk Cameron kid. *  
  
"Spin, it's okay. The movie doesn't start till 8:35. You'll have plenty of time," Spinner quickly pulled his arm away from her. Betrayed by his own girlfriend! He shook his head, and was upset even more by the amused look on Craig's face.  
  
"Besides, I kinda wanted to talk to Ashley tonight . . . "Craig began, but was cut off by Paige.  
  
"Why did she slap you at the performance? She won't tell me."Paige sounded somewhat frustrated, "You guys broke up so quickly. You must've really screwed up, Craig."  
  
Craig mouthed the word 'no' at her, before continuing his conversation with Spinner, "Well, I'm going to head inside. It's getting really cold out here! When school gets out, I'll meet you at my locker, then we'll head over to Sean's."  
  
He threw the remains of his lunch in a nearby trash can, and started up the steps. He could still hear Spinner complaining as he ran into the warm school building.  
  
Spinner stopped talking as he watched Marco and Dylan enter the building behind Craig, "That's so gross."  
  
Paige followed his gaze to Marco and Dylan as the doors closed behind them, "Spin, Marco was like, your best friend. And Dylan's my brother. So, just get over it."  
  
Spinner decided he didn't want to argue with Paige, but in his mind, Marco was no longer his friend.  
  
  
  
The rest of day was rather dull, and all of Craig's classes seemed twice as long. Just as he figured, Sean didn't come back to school that day.  
  
Craig waited for ten minutes before he finally saw Spinner, practically dragging his knuckles, come into sight.  
  
"Are you sure you wanna try and be friends with Cameron?"Spinner grumbled.  
  
"This isn't about Sean," Craig said quickly as he turned and walked quickly toward the exit.  
  
Spinner's face brightened, and he followed Craig just as swiftly, "It's not?"  
  
"Well, it is. But mostly I need you to make sure I call Ashley and give her a *real* apology," Craig explained as they walked down the street.  
  
"See? There you go. You get my hopes up, and you tear 'em down!"Spinner half-joked. He wasn't sure why, but he was actually intimidated by Sean. He wouldn't ever let anybody know, especially because not only was Sean shorter than he, but in a younger grade!  
  
Craig had been to Sean's house a few times, and managed to find it without difficulty. Now he hoped that Sean was at least home. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still, no answer. Craig pounded on the door, and shouted, "Hey, Cameron! Get off your lazy ass, and answer the door!"  
  
Craig didn't see the expression of horror that crossed Spinner's face. Spinner was shocked yet again, when he heard Sean's voice yell back, "Hey, Manning! Don't be such a chicken and open the damn door!"  
  
Craig smiled and opened the door. Sean had the blinds closed, and was lying on the couch wearing a wife beater, and a pair of boxers. The only light in the room was the glow from the TV.  
  
"This is definitely worth skipping school," Craig said sarcastically as he watched his friend veg in front of the television, "What're ya doin tonight?"  
  
Sean let his head fall over the arm of the couch so he saw Craig upside down, "Hi Spinner," he waved to the blonde haired boy standing behind Craig. *He hated me for making out with Ashley when she was still going out with Jimmy, but that's ancient history! What's his problem now? *  
  
"Sean . . . "Craig waved his hand in front of Sean's face, "Did you hear my question?"  
  
Sean sat up and turned to face them, "Well, I was thinking about just staying in tonight. Jay said he might stop by . . . "  
  
"Good!"Craig said as he slapped his hands together, "So you have no plans. Why don't you get dressed, and meet Spinner and me at my house?"  
  
"Craig, I dunno . . . "Sean began. Wasn't he just thinking about how you couldn't go back?  
  
"You're coming! And if you don't show up, then I'll come looking for you," Craig said as threateningly as he could.  
  
"Fine, fine, fine! I'll meet you guys over there," Sean said, "Just as soon as my show's over," He turned and laid back down on the couch.  
  
Craig and Spinner shook their heads, and started the walk to Craig's house.  
  
"It's ringing!"Craig whispered as he waited for Ash to pick up.  
  
"Phones tend to do that," Spinner said as if he were talking to a three-year-old.  
  
"Hello?"Ashley's voice answered quietly.  
  
"Ash? Please don't hang up. . . . "Craig said quickly as he heard her frustrated sigh.  
  
"Craig, I don't have anything else to say to you," Ash said impatiently.  
  
"I have some things to say to you. Do you think you could meet me at The Dot, tonight?"Craig almost pleaded.  
  
The other end was silent for a while before he heard, "I don't think my parents would want me going out tonight. I'm supposed to stay and watch Toby. But, I guess I can sneak out after my parents go to dinner . . . "  
  
"Please Ash?"  
  
"Ellie's over here right now, and I don't wanna leave her alone with Toby,"Ashley started to back out.  
  
"She can walk around with Spinner for a while," Craig suggested. Spinner hit his head, knowing that they could only be talking about Ellie Nash.  
  
"My parents are leaving at eight, so we'll meet you there at 8:15, okay?"  
  
"8:15 sounds great," Craig saw Spinner flailing his arms.  
  
Spinner whispered, "I have to pick Paige up at eight. Remember our movie starts at 8:30."  
  
"Ash, Spinner can't come, but I'm sure Ellie will be fine by herself for a few minutes." Craig tried to reason.  
  
"I dunno Craig. Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Ashley tried to get out of it again.  
  
Just then, there was a knock on Craig's bedroom door, "Hey, Manning, you really should lock that door."  
  
"It was locked!"Craig yelled back at him.  
  
"Oh, ya, well, maybe you shouldn't have one that's so easy to pick," Sean joked as he entered Craig's room.  
  
Craig forgot he had Ash on the phone, then she said, "Ya, I don't want to leave Ellie alone. It wouldn't be very polite. Bye, Craig."  
  
Craig looked over at Sean, whose eyes widened by the plotting look Craig had. He could tell he was going to be involved, whether he wanted to or not, "Ash, don't hang up! I've got someone!" 


	2. The Truth Lies Hold

"Craig, what did you just do?"Sean asked through clenched teeth.  
  
Craig had finally convinced Ash to meet Sean and him at The Dot. Sean wasn't exactly sure what he had just been volunteered for, but he knew it wasn't something good, "You're gonna come with me to see Ash tonight."  
  
Sean eyed him suspiciously, "That's all? Wouldn't you want to talk to her alone? I don't know exactly what's going on with you two, but I heard she slapped you or something. Are sure that's all?"  
  
"Ya, that's it," Craig answered definitely. *Why would it bother him if he just had to make small talk with a beautiful girl? *  
  
"Craig, didn't your parents ever teach you about lying?"Spinner asked with a satisfied smirk on his face.  
  
"Didn't your parents ever teach you to mind your own business? Or is that just Paige rubbing off on you?"Craig had crossed the line, and he knew it. Spinner didn't say anything else to him, just the occasional angry glare.  
  
Sean stood back against the wall with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, "Somebody wanna tell me what's going on?" Nobody answered, "Now?"  
  
Craig let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his dark, disheveled hair, "You wanna do me a favor?"  
  
Sean glared at him, "Do I have a choice?"  
  
"Not really," Craig answered truthfully, "I need to apologize to Ash, and she has a friend over that she doesn't want to leave alone. Well, at least that was her reason when she was trying to back out. Anyway, her friend needs someone to talk to, while I explain things to Ash."  
  
Sean was thinking about the things Craig had just said, and began to wonder why Spinner couldn't go, "Wait a minute! Why haven't you mentioned this 'friend''s name?"  
  
Craig looked at Spinner for help, but he didn't seem to care, "Well, uh . . . she's pretty, in that alternative way. She's really nice too, once you get to know her. And, um . . ."  
  
"Name?!" Sean demanded. He looked threatening as he stood with his arms crossed in a grey hoodie, baggy jeans, and a black bandanna.  
  
"She has red hair. It's usually in braided pigtails. She wears pretty much only clothes darker than the night sky . . . "  
  
"Name?"Sean was becoming impatient. *I thought that Craig wanted to try and be friends again. I guess I was wrong. He just needs me to take out some freaky friend of his ex-girlfriend. They probably thought that the only person who would take out this Goth chick would be a troublemaker. Well at least I know what Craig really thinks of me now. Maybe he's just trying to accept me for who I am. I don't think I want to be accepted as a troublemaker. *  
  
"Ellie. Ellie Nash," Craig finally gave in. He waited to see Sean lose it. *He's probably gonna say something about how she is a freak, and that he can't believe I'd think that low of him . . . * But it never came.  
  
"Cool," Sean replied calmly. *I don't know her yet. I'm not gonna judge her. * Sean reasoned with himself.  
  
"Cool?"Spinner and Craig both questioned at the same time. They turned and looked each other. Spinner remembered Jimmy wanting to go out with Ellie after Ashley and he had broken up, but she had given Spinner her number, not Jimmy. Spinner didn't think she was that bad, because he knew her . . . well, at least more than Sean did. At first glance, you couldn't help but think she was a little . . . strange. Yet, Sean didn't seem to mind. Maybe that was the point. He didn't *seem* to mind.  
  
A little before eight, Sean and Craig said goodbye to Spinner as he went to pick up Paige, and they headed toward The Dot.  
  
"You're sure you're okay with this?" Craig checked one last time before going into the diner.  
  
"For the thousandth time: It's okay! I need to . . . meet new people anyway," Sean finally decided on the most effective way to word it.  
  
"Okay . . . but you can't back out now," Craig cautioned as he opened the door and immediately saw Ashley and Ellie sitting at a small table.  
  
They slowly approached the girls, and Ellie scowled at both of them. Even with all the problems with her family, she still noticed what was going on around her. She couldn't help but resent Craig for what he did to Ashley. Over Winter Break, Ashley had called her practically every day, and every time she was in tears. *I wish Ashley would just stop pretending like she's okay! * She looked over at her best friend, who was watching Craig intently as the two boys came closer. Ashley managed somewhat of a smile, which just made Ellie more angry. *There she goes again. She falls to pieces when it's just us, and then he appears, and suddenly it's okay! *  
  
Ellie took a deep breath as the guys sat down at the table, "Hey Sean. Craig," she nodded at them.  
  
"Hi Ellie," Craig greeted her as he grinned, "I guess you already know Sean."  
  
Sean had the hood of his sweatshirt up, so nobody noticed the headphones he wore. He was listening to Linkin Park, loud enough so he couldn't hear what the others were saying, but quiet enough that nobody else could hear. All of a sudden, he felt someone kick his leg, "Owe!"he said, then looked at Craig, where he presumed the kick came from. Craig motioned with his head at Ellie, and then Sean remembered why he was there. He reached inside his pocket and turned off his C.D. player, "Hey, Ellie, ya wanna go for a walk, or something?" Craig had asked him to make sure it didn't sound too obvious, but by the expression on her face, she knew there was something going on.  
  
She let out a frustrated sigh before accepting, "Sure, let's go outside," Ellie slid off her chair and was followed by Sean.  
  
They walked outside in the cold night air. Ellie felt the freezing weather quickly, for she was dressed in baggy black pants, a thin black tee shirt, and she wore white and black striped arm stockings.  
  
She crossed her arms in front of her as they walked down the dark street, trying to keep some heat in, "So, what was all that about?"  
  
"What was all what about?"Sean asked innocently. She couldn't see his expression, but she knew he was lying.  
  
"You don't even know who I am, and you decide to ask to go walk with you? I don't think so."  
  
Sean let out a short sigh, "Craig wants to apologize to Ashley for what he did."  
  
"He told you what he did? Ashley is going to be angry. She didn't even want to tell me, because she was afraid I'd feel bad for her."Ellie informed Sean.  
  
Sean decided not to tell her that he didn't know what had happened. *Maybe I can get her to tell me later. *  
  
"What C.D. were you listening to in there?"Ellie asked, which completely surprised Sean. *How did she know I was listening to my C.D. player? *  
  
"Linkin Park," Sean answered simply.  
  
Ellie nodded her head, "I love the song "Numb.""  
  
"Ya? That's what I was listening to."He turned to smile at her, and noticed she was shivering, "Oh, you must be freezing! Here, you can wear my sweatshirt," Sean offered as he started to pull it over his head.  
  
"No, it's okay. They should almost be done talking, right?"Ellie said. Sean asked her one more time, and she refused again.  
  
"Ya, I guess you're right. Maybe we should go back. I mean, how long could it take for Craig to apologize?"  
  
"Ashley, I didn't get to explain everything to you the night of our performance. So, please, don't say anything, just listen."Ashley nodded her head slowly, and Craig took a deep breath before justifying his actions, "Ash, I care for you, I really do. Everything between us was great, but after a while, it seemed like we were just staying together because it was the right thing to do. It was like we knew that we weren't meant for each other, but together, we felt safe. Ash, I did something stupid. But it was because of that mistake, that I realized what we had. A strong friendship. I know that if you ever needed me, I'd be there. And vice versa."  
  
"Then where were you over Winter Break?"Ashley spat, "I needed you then, but you weren't there!"  
  
"I don't know Ash. But as cliched as this may sound, we can still be friends. Actually, I need you to be my friend. Ashley, I miss you so much. Please, please be the bigger person and accept my apology."  
  
Craig stared at her, waiting for her answer. He could see how watery her eyes were, but he knew she wouldn't cry in front of him. The world seemed to stand still as he awaited the next words out of her mouth.   
  
"Are they done yet?"Ellie asked Sean as he peered into the window. Ellie could see her breath coming out in short little puffs, and was beginning to think they'd never come out.  
  
"Nope, not yet," Sean said as he moved away from the window and leaned against the wall. He noticed Ellie shaking again, "Ellie, just shut up, and take the damn sweatshirt!"  
  
He ignored her protests as he slid it off, and started to hand it to her. She wouldn't take it, so he pushed it over her head, and began to push her arms through the sleeves, when she flinched, "Ellie, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I grabbed you so hard," Sean apologized quickly. He really didn't mean to hurt her. Actually, when he thought about it, he hardly even touched her.  
  
Ellie noticed Sean was watching her strangely as she carefully slid her arms into the sleeves, "It's okay, you didn't hurt me," Ellie tried to comfort him.   
  
It was big for Ellie, so she pulled the sleeves back a little. As she did so, her arm stocking started to come back with it, exposing a couple cuts on her arms. Ellie quickly pulled it back down, but not quick enough. Sean's eyes were glued to a little above her wrist. 


	3. Forgiving Assumptions

"I don't know if I can ever trust you again, Craig," Ashley said softly as she stared at her hands folded in her lap, "But I also don't know how long I can go on pretending nothing happened."  
  
*Was that a yes or a no? * Craig thought to himself. He tried to give her an encouraging smile, but she didn't even look up at him. *Well, that can't be a good sign. *  
  
"I don't think you understand how . . . distressed I was. I still am. I needed someone to be there for me, to help me through everything. Ellie did the best she could, but she's been having her own problems . . . "her voice trailed off. *I shouldn't have said that. Ellie was reluctant to tell me about her cutting problem. She didn't want anyone else to know, and I almost told Craig. I'm glad she has finally stopped. *  
  
  
  
Sean's eyes slowly moved from her arm to her eyes as he whispered, "Ellie . . . what's going on?" He knew exactly what was going on. She was cutting. He needed her to tell him though, otherwise he would sound like he was accusing her of something.  
  
Ellie cleared her throat. *What's going on? I need an excuse, think, think, think! * She finally decided to play dumb, "What do you mean Sean?"  
  
Sean eyed her suspiciously. *I should have known she wouldn't tell me. * He decided to ask her anyway, "Those cuts on your arm," he gestured to where the cuts were, "How did you get them?"  
  
"Oh, Ashley and I went rollerblading, and I fell," Ellie turned her back to Sean as she looked in through the window, "I think they're almost done."  
  
Sean sighed quietly, "Ellie, you don't have to tell me what you're doing, but don't lie to me." *Crap! So much for not sounding accusing. * Sean knew that he meant what he said, but he felt that she have thought more about it the words coming out of his mouth. He was right.  
  
Ellie quickly turned to him, "Excuse me? Sean, why would I lie to you?"  
  
*This is just great! I try to make new friends, and I go and screw it up! Well, what's new? I always screw things up.* "Ellie, I'm just worried about you. Those cuts look too clean to be from a rollerblading accident." *Why do they even bother putting a red line there? I always end up crossing it anyway. *  
  
"Sean, you have no idea what you're talking about! Just leave me alone, okay?"Ellie felt her eyes start to fill with tears, so she turned away from Sean.  
  
"Ellie," he began, his tone much softer, "I don't know you very well, but . . ."  
  
"You don't know me at all, Sean," Ellie claimed without looking at him, "Here they come." Ellie wiped the tears off her cheeks, as Craig came outside with a grin on his face.  
  
"Ellie, you can go back inside with Ash," Craig smiled, not picking up on the tension between Sean and Ellie.  
  
Ellie cleared her throat, "Here," she began to take off the sweatshirt, but Sean came toward her, and stilled her hands.  
  
"It's okay, you can give it to me later," Sean offered, "Track nine." His last comment was whispered so that only Ellie could hear.  
  
She had a confused expression on her face, "What?" Craig was becoming impatient, and started calling for Sean.  
  
"Listen to track nine," Sean said quickly as he jogged to catch up with Craig, "I'll talk to you later Ellie!"  
  
Ellie still wasn't certain what he meant, but as she turned to go inside the diner, she put her hands in the pocket across her belly, and felt his C.D. player. She smiled to herself as she realized what he meant.  
  
  
  
"So?" Craig asked Sean excitedly. As they walked down the cold, dark street.  
  
"So, what?"Sean rolled his eyes at Craig.  
  
"She was wearing your sweatshirt, I saw you two whispering over in the corner . . . "Craig said suggestively.  
  
"Shouldn't I be the one interrogating *you* about what happened?"Sean asked, trying somewhat to change the subject.  
  
"Ya, she said we could be friends, but it might take a while to get back on track," Craig said quickly, "So, what's going on with you and Ellie?"  
  
"Nothing we were just talking," Sean tried to explain in his carefree tone.  
  
"Ya, sure . . . "Craig smiled and pressed the glow button on his watch, "It's nine o'clock. You don't have any plans, right?"  
  
"Actually, Jay and the guys were gonna stop by," Sean reminded Craig.  
  
"So, why did you start hanging out with them?"Craig tried to ask without much concern. Sean smirked at Craig's attempt of casualness, but decided to give him a little information.  
  
"They get me," was his answer. He continued to walk, but Craig stopped for a second to figure out what he meant.  
  
After Craig snapped back to reality, he realized Sean was far ahead of him. He ran to catch up, "And I don't get you?"  
  
*I should've known he'd take it the wrong way. * Sean was starting to feel the cold, and noticed that they were nearing his house, "Hey, Craig, I'll talk to you later. I'm glad you and Ash made up," he turned into his yard, and was about to the door, when he heard Craig yell.  
  
"You never answered me!" Craig didn't understand.  
  
Sean didn't even turn to look at Craig as he unlocked the door, "I think *you* just did," he opened the door and went inside. Craig was left in the freezing dark, alone and confused.  
  
Ellie sat down across from Ashley, and smiled at her friend's beaming face, "Things went well?"Ellie assumed.  
  
"It was great El! He wants to be friends again! I know that I can't exactly trust him right now, but that's why he'll make a much better friend than a boyfriend." Ashley was so excited, it took her a moment before she realized her companion's attire, "El, isn't that Sean's?"  
  
Ellie smiled and nodded, but quickly changed the subject, "You're happy, right?" *Of course she's happy, why else would she be smiling like an idiot? *  
  
Ashley quickly forgot about interrogating her friend about Sean, and instead went on to talk about how pleased she was to be on speaking terms with Craig.  
  
While Ashley spoke, Ellie's mind wandered. *I wonder what he's going to say next time he sees me. *  
  
Ellie remembered the C.D. player in her pocket, and carefully pulled up the hood of the sweatshirt. Then she pulled the headphones out of her pocket, and put them on. Ashley was off in her own world, so she didn't notice anything Ellie did.  
  
After she heard the C.D. start to play, she hit the 'skip' button eight times. The song began:   
  
Memories consume me  
  
Like opening the wound  
  
I'm picking me apart again  
  
You all assume  
  
I'm safe here in my room  
  
[Unless I try to start again]  
  
I don't want to be the one  
  
The battles always choose  
  
'Cause inside I realize  
  
I'm the one confused  
  
I don't know what's worth fighting for  
  
Or why I have to scream  
  
I don't know why I instigate  
  
And say what I don't mean  
  
I don't know how I got this way  
  
I know it's not alright  
  
So I'm  
  
Breaking the habit  
  
Tonight  
  
A/N:  
  
This chapter was shorter than the rest, but I got school tomorrow, so I need to go to sleep! I don't know if the song is really right for the story, but I was listening to it as I wrote, and it made sense. The lyrics are from Linkin Park's C.D. Meteora, and the song is called "Breaking the Habit". I want to say thank-you for those of you who have reviewed my story, and anyone who has taken time out of their day to read it! I'll try to update as soon as possible, but it may take a while! Thanks again! :)  
  
~*~Sammi*~ 


	4. Confusing Behavior

Ashley woke up smiling the next morning. *Things are going to get better. * Ashley convinced herself that being friends with Craig was the best thing to do.  
  
She looked over the edge of her bed to see if Ellie was still sleeping. To Ashley's surprise, she wasn't even there. Ashley looked at er alarm clock to see what time it was. 12:30. *Wow, I slept late!* She figured it was because of all the sleepless nights she had since she found out about Craig and . . .. Suddenly, she felt as if all the happiness in her had been drained out, and replaced with anger. She took a deep breath, before looking for Ellie.  
  
She knocked on the bathroom door, "Ellie? Are you in there?"  
  
"Did your best friend run away from you?"was the response from the other side of the door.  
  
"Shut up, Toby! Have you seen Ellie?" She asked, trying to sound nice after her first rude comment.  
  
"She left. I don't blame her. Now, would you please stop bothering me?"Toby shouted through the door.  
  
Ashley slowly drifted downstairs, and began to wonder where Ellie had went. She replayed yesterdays events in her head, trying to remember if Ellie had mentioned needing to be somewhere in the morning. *I invited to come over and stay the night. Craig called. We went to The Dot. Craig apologized.* She was lost in thought, for the cheerfulness quickly returned to her when she thought about him. She shook her head, and started recollecting again. *She came inside. I told her about Craig-she was wearing Sean's sweatshirt! Didn't I ask her about that? She managed to weasel herself about of it!* Ashley smiled to herself. *Guess I'm not the only one who things worked out for.*  
  
Ellie walked down the sidewalk, trying to find where Sean lived. *This was a bad idea. I should of waited for Ash to wake up.*  
  
She saw somebody sitting out on a porch, with a bundle of blankets in their arms. As she got closer, she realized is was Emma. Ellie turned off the sidewalk, and approached Emma on the porch. *Somewhere in that bundle of blankets must be her baby brother.*  
  
"Hi Ellie," Emma greeted her, "What're you doing here?"  
  
"I was just walking around," Ellie didn't think now would be the best time to ask directions to Sean's house, "Shouldn't Jack be inside? It's really cold out here." Ellie tried to change the subject.  
  
"My mom had to take Snake to chemotherapy, and I was tired of staying inside. Besides, he's wrapped up really well."Emma said as she looked down at her brother, "You're not cold are you Ellie? Cause we could go inside."  
  
Ellie didn't understand why Emma was being nice to her, they didn't really even know each other. *Maybe it's because of the whole Craig thing. I knew her and Manny were fighting, but I didn't think she'd take the enemies side.* Ellie gestured to her sweatshirt, "No, I'm fine," soon as the words escaped her mouth, she knew she had screwed up.  
  
Emma looked up as Ellie spoke to her, and of course, recognized the sweatshirt, "That. . .that's Sean's sweatshirt," Emma stammered as she pointed at Ellie, "What's going between you two?" her voice evened out.  
  
"Oh, I was cold last night, so Sean let me wear it. Actually, that's kind of why I'm here," *Well, she's gonna be angry anyway. I might as well find out where Sean lives.*  
  
"What were you doing last night?"Emma asked with interest, trying to sound like it didn't really matter.  
  
"Just hanging out with a few people," Ellie was going to say that she was with Craig, Ashley, and Sean, but that sounded too much like a double date.  
  
"Oh . . ."Emma stood up, while carefully making sure that Jack wasn't uncovered, "Well, uh, Sean lives over there. Um, his house is kinda. . .easy to miss, I guess. . ." she gave a short description how to get there, and Ellie thanked her, and started toward the way Emma had pointed.  
  
Emma walked inside, and closed the door behind her. She leaned against, and slowly slid down it. She started to cry as she held her baby brother close to her.  
  
Ellie saw the building Emma had described, and walked up to the door and knocked. Nobody answered. She knocked again, and there was no answer. So she turned around, and almost jumped out of her skin, when she was face to face with Sean.  
  
He had this wicked scowl on his face, "What're you doing here Ellie?"   
  
Ellie was surprised by his tone, "Well, I just wanted to return your sweatshirt. I listened to the song," she tried to smile, but by the expression on his face, her confidence disappeared.  
  
"You could've called," he said as he looked away from her.  
  
"I didn't have your phone number," Ellie tried to explain.  
  
"You didn't have my address either. That didn't stop you," Sean was being so cruel.   
  
*Is this the same person who seemed so concerned about me just last night? * Ellie bit down on her bottom lip, she took a deep breath, "Are you okay Sean?"  
  
That was apparently the wrong thing to say, for he looked very offended, "Why would you care?" Sean held back what he really wanted to say, because of how scared she looked.  
  
"Well, you. . .you tried to help me when you thought there was something wrong, and even though there isn't, you were there for me."  
  
"Is this supposed to be some touchy-feely moment?"Sean asked bitterly.  
  
Ellie was looking in his eyes, trying to figure out what he was feeling. They were blank. She could see dark circles in his eyes, and realized that he must've not slept well. Ellie wasn't sure how he wanted her to respond to his last question, but he had made her angry, so the walls went back up, "Listen, I just wanted to return your stupid sweatshirt! So here!" She set the C.D. player on the ground, and pulled the sweatshirt off. She threw it at him, and noticed how wide his eyes had gotten.  
  
"Ellie, I'm sorry, I just . . ." Ellie never got to hear the rest of his sentence, because at that moment, the door was flung open, and Sean's brother stood in his pajamas, looking very angry.  
  
"Sean!" Tracker bellowed, "Where the hell were you all night?!"  
  
Suddenly, the Sean that was starting to open up to Ellie was gone. Sean slowly turned is head to look at his brother, "Does it matter?"  
  
"Don't start that monotone crap with me Sean!"Tracker yelled at his little brother. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, "Could you not get to a phone?"  
  
"Tracker, if I saw a phone, don't you think I would've used it?" Ellie fought back a smirk.  
  
Tracker smiled and rolled his eyes, "No, I don't think so," he was starting to lighten up, "Sean, I just don't want you to be taken away from me. Could you please try to call me before you make plans?"  
  
"Yeah, sure Tracker . . ."Sean shrugged it off.  
  
"One last thing Sean. Where were you last night?" Tracker interrogated him.  
  
"With Jay," Sean answered. Ellie was beginning to feel uncomfortable.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay away from him and his crew," Sean's brother looked worried, "They're not doing anything for you, except making you look like a troublemaker."  
  
*Uh-oh. Things were just about to be okay, too. Tracker is just trying to look out for him, but I don't think Sean sees it that way.* He obviously didn't, for at that moment Sean shouted, "I'm tired of taking this crap from you Tracker! This is who I am! Why can't you just accept that? Why can't you realize that I'm not the model citizen like you? I'm never gonna be like you Tracker! And I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing . . ."  
  
Sean just kept ranting. Ellie wanted to leave, but she felt as if she were watching a car drive off a cliff, and Sean was in it. She didn't want to leave him alone.  
  
Finally, Sean stopped, and just stood there, breathing heavily. He was waiting for his brother to say something to him. *Tracker needs to stop believing I'm something I'm not. I'm tired of pretending. That's all I ever did when I was going out with . . .*  
  
"I'm gonna go get dressed, and go look for a job," Tracker said as he turned to go inside, "It was nice to meet you, uh . . ."  
  
"Ellie," Sean grunted. Ellie smiled at Tracker.  
  
"Yeah, it was nice to meet you Ellie. You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Then, he turned and went inside. *Is he just going to pretend nothing happened? * Ellie wondered about the strange relationship between Sean and his brother.  
  
"Ellie, I'm just gonna go to sleep," Sean mumbled, "I'll see you at school."  
  
*Whatever. I should go and see if Ash is awake yet.* Ellie slowly walked back the way she came. This time, however, she was cold, shocked, and believed that nobody in the world cared about her. 


	5. Awkward Meetings

"Hey, El!" Ashley greeted her, "Where did you go?" *She doesn't look very happy, but then again, she hardly ever looks happy.*   
  
Ellie slowly sunk into the couch, "I just went for a walk," she shrugged.  
  
Ashley smiled as she turned and sat in a chair across from Ellie, "You didn't do anything interesting?" Ashley shrugged.  
  
"Nothing worth talking about," Ellie answered as she thought Sean's strange behavior.  
  
Ashley became even more intrigued. *What happened? * She waited for Ellie to elaborate, but after an awkward moment of silence, she had to ask, "Did you go to Sean's?"  
  
Ellie shrugged, "Yeah, for a little bit."  
  
Ashley frowned. *What happened?!* She realized that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to get any information from Ellie. *That's another big difference between Paige and Ellie. If Paige does anything, she immediately has to tell somebody. Ellie, on the other hand, will make you pry for days before she gives in.*  
  
"What are you doing tonight?" Ellie asked casually.  
  
"I dunno. Craig wants to go to the movies, or something, but I think it sounds too much like a date. What do you think?"  
  
Ellie plastered a fake smile on, "I think it's great that you and Craig are friends again," *. Has she forgotten what he did to her? Or has she just completely lost her mind? * Ellie decided on the latter, and awaited Ashley's decision. *I don't want to go home. Chances are that she'll be there. On the couch, passed out . . .* Ellie shuddered at the thought of seeing her mother that way. Even though she should have been used to it, Ellie figured there was no way of growing accustomed to seeing your mom in that state.  
  
"You're right Ellie. He said he wants to be friends. I go to the movies with Jimmy, just as friends, so why shouldn't I be able to go with Craig?" *Because I think I still have feelings for him.* Ashley answered her own question.  
  
"What time does the movie start?" Ellie asked casually. *Please don't let it be till late.*  
  
"I don't know. I'll go call Craig now and see," Ashley hopped out of her chair, and picked up the phone receiver.  
  
Ellie let out a long sigh. *Well, this is just great. I'm gonna have to go home.*  
  
A few minutes later, Ashley came back into the livingroom, smiling brightly, "It starts in two hours, but Craig asked me out to an early dinner! I need to hurry and get ready!"  
  
Ashley quickly took off to her room, then stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered Ellie. *I shouldn't just leave her. I mean, Craig and I are just going as friends.* She turned around, and saw Ellie opening the door, "Where are you going?"  
  
"I figured that I should be getting home, so you could get ready," Ellie shrugged.  
  
Ashley pulled her back in, and shut the door, "Why don't you come with us?"  
  
Ellie shook her head, "Ash, I don't want to be the third wheel," she started to reach for the doorknob again.  
  
Ashley stopped her, "Fist of all, Craig and I are just friends. You wouldn't be intruding or anything. Second of all, I could call Craig and ask him to invite somebody."  
  
Ellie hesitated, but she figured it had to be better than going home. *Anything is better than that place right now.* She finally agreed, and Ashley and she went to call Craig again.  
  
*Stop ringing, dammit!* Sean was lying on the couch, trying to sleep, but the awful sound of the phone would not stop. Finally, Sean gave in, and slowly rose to get the phone, "Hello?" He grunted.  
  
"Sean? This is Craig," Sean groaned at the excitement in Craig's voice, "Do you have any plans tonight?"  
  
"That all depends," Sean answered, choosing his words carefully. *Why is he trying to be friends again? *  
  
"Well, Ashley and I are going to the movies," Craig paused for a dramatic effect, "And since things went so well between you and Ellie last night, I thought you would like to come . . ."  
  
"Uh-uh. Not a good idea Craig," Sean protested, "Ellie and I, we're . . .we're just not alike."  
  
Craig scoffed, "Come on! You two are perfect for each other! You both listen to the same music, you got the same 'I don't give a damn' attitude, and . . . you wanna help me out."  
  
Sean hesitated, "She came over this morning."   
  
"That just proves my point! She likes you Sean! Just go to the movies with us," Craig pleaded. *I want to make sure everything is still fine between Ash and me.*  
  
"Actually, I might have been kind of rude to her," Sean admitted.  
  
"Kind of rude?" Craig questioned.  
  
"Okay, really rude," Sean sighed, "I was just so tired, I was out with Jay and Towerz all night, so I hadn't slept."  
  
*Figures. I knew those guys were having a bad effect on Sean. They don't understand him like he thinks they do. They're just making him believe that he's like them. I wish Sean knew he was better than that. His self-esteem is too low.*  
  
"Well, I told Ash, and Ellie that I'd have a friend come, so you have to," Craig pushed.  
  
"Ellie probably doesn't even want me there," Sean reasoned, "Has she already agreed to this?"  
  
"Yeah," Craig half-lied. *Well, she did agree to come, just not exactly with him.*  
  
Craig could tell that Sean was thinking it over, "I still don't know man. You weren't there today, you don't know the things I said to her. I think I hurt her feelings."  
  
"Sean, you didn't hurt Ellie's feelings, okay? So, just get over it, and come with us," Craig began to wonder what Sean had said to Ellie. *Nobody has ever hurt her feelings, right? At least she's never shown it. What did Sean say that made her react in a way that he knew he had gone to far? *   
  
Sean ran a hand through his short dirty blonde hair, deciding wether or not to go. *Why was I so mean to her? I don't want to be hanging around if there's a lot of awkward silence.* He remembered how last night, he was concerned for Ellie, and yet, he still had a good time. Then, a little later, he went to a party with Jay and Towerz, and for the first time, they actually irritated him. He tried to leave their party earlier, but he didn't want to be rude. They finally took him out to the garage, and had him work on the car, and he started to feel better. The only time Sean felt that everything was going to be fine, that his future was bright, was when he was working on cars. He eventually lost track of time, and didn't manage to leave till morning. He wasn't sure if his uncouthly behavior was because of lack of sleep, or too much time with Jay and Towerz.  
  
Sean sighed in defeat, "What time should I be at your house?"  
  
"What's he doing here?" Ellie whispered to Ashley as they were getting their coats.  
  
Ashley handed Ellie a coat to borrow, "All we asked was for Craig to bring a friend, we didn't exactly request anyone!"  
  
They walked outside where the guys were waiting, and Craig smiled as he saw Ashley. Sean looked at his feet as he saw the disappointed look on Ellie's face. *Well, why should I be surprised? I should be used to that look by now.*  
  
"Okay," Craig said, sensing the tension between Ellie and Sean, "We should get going."  
  
They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Sean was embarrassed about the things he had said to Ellie. *She saw Tracker in his pajamas too! This is just great! The awkward silence is worse than I thought it would be.*  
  
Ellie was angry, and every now and then, would roll her eyes. *Why would he come? He isn't even friends with us.* She sighed. *I should've went home to at least check on Mom.*  
  
Soon they reached The Dot, and they filed inside. The table they had sat at the previous night was open, so they chose to sit there. Ashley would occasionally look up, and smile at Craig. *This is a good thing, right? She hasn't yelled, or brought up Manny. Oh, and she's smiling again.*  
  
Craig returned Ashley's smile as Spinner approached their table. He had a quizzical expression on his face as he recognized the four people at the table. He smirked to himself, "Hey you guys! Can I get you anything?"  
  
They all ordered, and Spinner had to ask, "So . . . is this like the double date from hell? Or what?"  
  
Everybody looked up at him, "What's that supposed to mean?" Sean asked.  
  
"Well, you got the two social outcasts who think that everyone is so superficial. And the girl who vowed never to speak to her ex-boyfriend again after he cheated on her with a younger girl, all out on a date." Spinner shrugged, "Just interesting, that's all."  
  
The four stared at him. *What happened to him?* Craig didn't understand why Spinner was being such a jerk.  
  
"Ellie, how's that arm of yours?" Spinner asked with a devilish look.  
  
Ellie's eyes widened, and Sean stood up. He looked back at the table, and saw anger on Ashley's face, and Craig looking very confused. *Ash knows.* He figured. *Who told Spinner?*  
  
"Spinner, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Sean asked. *Don't hit him. Don't hit him. . .* Sean kept himself in line.  
  
As soon as they were outside, Sean spun around, and slammed Spinner against the building, "What the hell was that about?"  
  
Sean could see the fear in Spinner's eyes. Soon as it had appeared, it was gone, and he croaked, "Did I tell you the interesting news Paige informed me about?"  
  
Sean stared intently at Spinner, "Paige told you?"  
  
"That's not what this is about," Spinner managed to get out before Sean slammed him against the wall again.  
  
"Who told you?" Sean demanded, loosening his grip a little.  
  
"Well, last night, Paige told me she didn't think we were working out," Spinner went on, his fear of Sean not perceptible.   
  
Sean let him drop to the ground, "Did she tell you something about Ellie?" Sean was growing impatient.  
  
"She might have," Spinner smirked.  
  
"Are you doing this in some sick, twisted way to get back at Paige?" Sean raised one eyebrow.  
  
He took Spinner's silence as a 'yes'. He groaned, and ran a hand through his hair, "Have you told anyone else?"  
  
Spinner shook his head, and his phobia of Sean was returning with a vengeance.  
  
"Okay, but if I hear anybody talking about it, then I'll hunt you down and . . ."  
  
Craig opened the door and looked around, "Hey, Sean. What's going on?" Sean and Spinner both turned to look at Craig.  
  
Sean assured, "Everything's fine, we're done," he gave one last threatening look at Spinner, before following Craig inside.  
  
"Hey, the movie's about to start, so let's forget about dinner," Ashley said as she met the guys at the door.  
  
Sean and Ellie fell behind Craig and Ashley as they walked. Ellie still had the same shocked expression on her face that she had when Spinner first opened his big mouth.  
  
"Ellie, are you okay?" Sean asked. He was really concerned for her. He hardly even knew her, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who liked to have her life in the spotlight.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Sean could tell by her tone, that she wanted him to tell her how Spinner found out.  
  
"I guess Paige told Spinner some stuff," Sean turned to see how Ellie reacted. Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her jaw, "And, they broke up last night, so I guess this is his form of revenge."  
  
Ellie nodded her head. They walked in silence for a while, and once and while they'd hear Ashley laugh at one of Craig's jokes in front of them.  
  
Finally, Sean broke the silence, "Hey Ellie?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Sean apologized.  
  
"For what?"   
  
"Everything. Assuming things before I really got to know you. My behavior this morning. You having to see Tracker in his pajamas."  
  
Ellie smiled at his last comment. She thought about the first thing he listed, "Hey Sean?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You weren't wrong about everything." 


	6. Silent Understandings

They walked out of the theater, and looked around. It was getting dark quickly, so they all decided to head toward Ashley's house.   
  
"Ellie, are you spending the tonight?" Ashley asked as they waited to cross the street.  
  
"If it's okay, I'd like to," Ellie answered, "But I should probably run home and get some clothes." *And check on my mom*  
  
"Okay," Ashley responded, knowing what Ellie meant, "I'll meet you back at my house." Ashley knew that Ellie wouldn't want everyone at her house, in case her mom was . . .indisposed.  
  
They crossed the street, and on the corner there was a small store with some old clothes. Ashley saw a vintage tee shirt in the window, and went inside to check it out.  
  
"Okay you guys, I'm gonna head home," Ellie informed Craig and Sean as they waited outside for Ashley.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you?" Sean asked Ellie.  
  
"I'll be fine," Ellie assured, "I'll meet you at Ash's in a half-hour or so."  
  
Before they could say another word she took off down the street.  
  
"Well . . ?" Craig looked at Sean expectantly. Sean raised an eyebrow from confusion. Craig jerked his head in the direction Ellie had went. Sean shrugged his shoulders.  
  
Craig shook his head, "Aren't you going to go with her?"   
  
"She said she'd be fine," Sean recalled.  
  
Craig raised his hand and smacked Sean, "Did you see that coming?"  
  
Sean glared at Craig, and kept himself from hitting him back, "No."  
  
"Then Ellie won't see the nice rapist man coming up to her," Craig said sarcastically, "What're you still doing here? Go after her!"  
  
Sean sighed, and ran after Ellie.  
  
He finally caught up with her, "Ellie," he yelled so she wouldn't be scared if he just popped up beside her.  
  
Ellie flipped around, "Sean? What're you doing here? I said I'd meet you at Ash's."  
  
"I just didn't want you to have to walk home alone," Sean explained.  
  
"Sean, I told you I'd be fine," Ellie was becoming nervous as they neared her house.  
  
"It's okay, I don't mind. Besides, I'd like to know where you live."  
  
"Sean, I don't need you to. Why don't you just go back to Ash's?" They were at her front yard now, and Ellie was thinking about just passing it. She hesitated too long.  
  
"Is this your house?" Sean asked.  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip, and admitted, "Yeah, it is. Sean, why don't you just stay outside while I go inside and get my stuff?"  
  
*Please just stay out here.* Ellie prayed as they reached her front door. Sean must have finally gotten it, because he nodded his head and didn't follow her inside.  
  
She saw her mom on the couch, and she looked very sick. Ellie reached over and set the garbage can in front of her mother right before she threw up. Ellie sighed, and went to her room to get some clothes.  
  
As she pulled out some clothes from her top drawer, a razor blade fell out of the folded clothes. It lay on the ground, reflecting the light from her lamp, making it look very appealing. Ellie glanced at her slightly opened door. She bent over and carefully picked it up. *I shouldn't do this.* She started to put the blade back into her drawer. *What difference is one time going to make?* She looked at door one more time before starting to roll up her arm stocking. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek as she placed the blade against the soft underside of her arm. Cuts of all sizes covered her arm. Some were brand new, while others were old and scabby. Ellie started to pull it across the skin, when she realized what she was doing. *This isn't going to help.* She began to replace her arm stocking, when all of a sudden, she heard a firm knock on her doorframe. Her head snapped up in horror as she heard the voice, "Ellie? Are you okay?"  
  
She rapidly stuck the blade in between her arm and the tight stocking, "I'm just finishing packing. I'll meet you outside in a second," she tried to keep her voice even as she walked over to bed and put some more clothes into her bag.  
  
Sean wasn't exactly sure what she was doing when he walked in. He saw her messing with her arm stocking, and when he knocked, it startled her, like she was doing something she shouldn't have been . . .  
  
"Let's go," Ellie grumbled as she walked out the door, and motioned for Sean to come with her.  
  
As they passed the livingroom, Sean whispered, " Is that your mom? Is she okay?"  
  
Ellie nodded, and walked faster, "Yeah she'll be fine."  
  
Sean knew what was going on. He used to have the same problem with his parents. He never wanted anybody to come over, because he didn't want them to see his parents. He hung his head as they walked out the door. *I heard somebody throwing up, and I wanted to make sure Ellie was fine. I used to get so embarrassed if somebody saw my parents when they were like that. I really screwed up.*  
  
They walked in silence the rest of the way to Ashley's house. Sean knocked on the door when they got there, and Toby answered.  
  
He shook his head and called to them as he walked away, "Take off your shoes."  
  
As Toby passed the livingroom, he walked up to Ashley and whispered, "Your fellow vampires, I can deal with. But a criminal? If any if my stuff is missing after he leaves, you're replacing it."  
  
Ashley glared at him as he left the room and Sean and Ellie entered, "You guys okay?"  
  
Ellie and Sean both had a blank expression on their faces, which led Ashley to believe something was wrong.  
  
"Yeah, we're fine," Sean answered for both of them, "What are we doing tonight?"   
  
Ashley shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. You guys want to watch some tv?" Ellie and Sean looked at each other before sitting down on the couch, "Ellie, do you wanna come help me make some popcorn?"  
  
"I help you Ash," Craig volunteered as he started to get up.  
  
"No that's okay Craig." Ashley stared at Ellie, waiting for her to get the idea.  
  
Ellie saw the expression on Ashley's face, and stood up with her, "Uh, sure, I'll help you."  
  
Craig looked at Sean questionably, and Sean shrugged.  
  
"So . . .?" Ashley asked as they entered the kitchen.  
  
"So what?" Ellie seemed clueless.  
  
"I went into the store, and when I came out, not only were you gone, but so was Sean. Did you invite him?" Ashley was concerned for her friend. She wasn't exactly sure what Ellie's family life was like, but she had some idea.  
  
"No, I didn't invite him," Ellie denied, "He just followed me. He said he didn't want me to walk home alone. Ash, he saw her . . ."  
  
Ashley started the microwave, and turned to face Ellie after hearing the embarrassment and fear in her voice.  
  
"Ellie, it's okay. It's not like Sean would tell anyone," Ashley tried to reassure her.  
  
"Ash, he knows more than I want him to. He knows more than *I* want to," Ellie confessed.  
  
"Sean has many problems of his own, El," the beeping of the microwave startled them both, "Just don't worry about it. Sean probably won't bring it up."  
  
Ellie managed a small smile, "Thanks Ash."  
  
Ashley got the popcorn out of the microwave and Ellie said, "I don't know if I should leave my mom home alone again. I don't think I should spend the night. She looked horrible when I stopped by, and I didn't really get to check on her, because of Sean, and everything . . ."  
  
"It's okay El. I understand. Maybe we can do something tomorrow."  
  
They poured the popcorn into a bowl and walked back out to the livingroom, where they found the guys watching a hockey game.  
  
They were rooting for opposing teams, and the score was tied. Ellie and Ashley giggled as they set the bowl in the middle of the table.  
  
Craig and Sean suddenly became aware of their presence, and Craig cut Ashley off as she opened her mouth, " Ash, you weren't about to make some stereotypical comment about guys and sports, now were you?"  
  
Ashley shook her head and smiled, "No, but can we please change the channel to something a little less . . ."  
  
"You're on thin ice," Craig joked, "Fine, fine, we'll change it. Sean, hand me the remote."  
  
"Get off your lazy ass and get it yourself," Sean said as he looked at the remote that was only a few feet away from Craig, "Besides, I should get going."  
  
Craig was reaching for the remote when he heard Sean's last comment, "Where are you going?"  
  
*He doesn't want to hear that I'm going out with Jay and Towerz tonight.* Sean lied, "It's getting kinda late, so I'm just gonna head home."  
  
Craig opened his mouth in protest, but Ellie started to speak, "I should be getting home too . . ."  
  
"Sean, why don't you walk Ellie home?" Ashley suggested.  
  
"I thought she was spending the night?" Sean was confused. Nobody noticed as Ellie grabbed her bag, and walked out the door.  
  
It was chilly out, but at least this time she had her own coat. She was just about to turn onto the next street, when she head someone calling after her, "Ellie wait up!"  
  
Ellie looked over her shoulder as Sean ran to catch up with her, "You should really learn to wait and find out if someone wants to come with you."  
  
Ellie rolled her eyes, "It's okay, I can walk myself home. I'm pretty sure I know the way."  
  
"I don't mind, I just thought you were spending the night," Sean explained as they walked down the sidewalk.  
  
"What are your plans tonight?" Ellie asked Sean. She knew by the tone he had used with Craig that he wasn't planning on staying home.  
  
"Probably hanging out with Jay," Sean admitted.  
  
"He's so mean to Marco and Dylan," Ellie complained.  
  
"I don't understand, or like everything they do," Sean admitted.  
  
"Then why do you hang out with them?" Ellie asked the obvious question.  
  
Sean hated that question, but chose to respond the way he always did, "They get me."  
  
Ellie thought about it for a second, then nodded her head, "Okay."  
  
Sean stopped walking for a second to stare at her. *Who is this girl?* She was the first person to accept that answer. Either they took offence like Craig, or they thought he was wrong.  
  
Ellie stopped and turned around when she noticed Sean wasn't beside her, "Are you coming?" Ellie asked nonchalantly.  
  
Sean smiled and caught up with her. *She's absolutely amazing.* 


	7. Important Conditions

"Um, well, I guess I'll see you later Sean," Ellie said goodbye reluctantly. *I don't think coming was the greatest idea. * Ellie looked at her house, which seemed to have its personal rain cloud above it.  
  
Sean noticed how Ellie started chewing on her lower lip as she stared at her house. *Does she even want to go home? * Sean cleared his throat, "Well, uh, I have a few minutes till I have to meet Jay . . . do you wanna go to The Dot, or something?"  
  
Ellie gave one last thoughtful glance at her house before nodding, and following to The Dot.  
  
As they walked inside, they spotted Marco and Dylan sitting at a table. Ellie smiled and waved at them, and they motioned for Sean and her to join them.  
  
As Sean sat down, Dylan glared at him. *What does he think he's doing? * Dylan thought to himself. *His crew wouldn't ever accept him if they new he hung out with us. *  
  
Ellie and Marco engaged in and uncomfortable conversation, even though things hadn't been the same since he started seeing Dylan. Ellie liked Dylan and everything, but she always felt like the third wheel. Sometimes, no wheel at all. Marco was so busy with Dylan. He didn't notice he had hurt Ellie's feelings.  
  
Sean was very uncomfortable. He hadn't spoken to Marco since he had switched cliques, and Marco didn't seem very interested in being friends again. Dylan's occasional scowls weren't helping much either.  
  
The bell on the door ran as somebody entered. On impulse, everybody turned to see who had come in.  
  
Eight pairs of eyes widened when Jay, Towerz, and all of their friends walked in. Dylan was filled with anger, while Marco became scared. Ellie and Sean were both nervous as te gang approached them.  
  
"Cameron, what the hell are you doing?" Jay asked incredulously.  
  
Sean put on his calm, blank face and shrugged, "Just hanging out."  
  
Jay scoffed and looked behind him at his friends, who immediately started laughing as well.  
  
"Right, Cameron, let's go," Jay turned and waited for Sean to follow.  
  
*Crap. I can't go with them, but if I stay, they're bound to make fun of Dylan and Marco. *  
  
Jay turned to face Sean again, "Cameron? Did you not hear me? We better leave before they rub off on us."  
  
Dylan started to tense, and couldn't restrain himself any longer, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Did the little fairy not understand?" Jay said coldly.  
  
Sean looked toward Ellie who was getting frustrated as well, "Jay, let's go," Sean stood up, and started walking toward the door. Jay stared at Dylan for one last second before walking outside. Sean stopped in the doorway, and looked at Ellie with an apologetic expression. He sighed, then left.  
  
Soon as they were gone, Dylan turned on Ellie, "What were you thinking?!"  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip and stared at Dylan with a confused expression, "What do you mean?"  
  
Marco jumped in, "Ellie, you know he's not like us anymore. Why are you hanging out with him?!"  
  
"We were just getting along . . . ," Ellie tried to explain. They stood up and started to walk away.  
  
Marco turned just before he walked out the door, "Sean isn't a good person to be around any more El. He's just trouble."  
  
"Marco, I didn't know . . ." Ellie started.  
  
"Well now you do," Marco turned and walked out the door.  
  
Ellie sighed as she slumped back into the chair. *I didn't know he hated him so much. I never can do anything right. *  
  
Ellie slowly wandered down the street toward her house. *I wish that one time things would work out. * She went to readjust her arm stocking, when she felt something in it. The razor blade. She pulled it out and looked at it thoughtfully. *What's the point of even trying to stop? Nobody cares. It'll make the pain go away . . . at least for a little bit. * Ellie had been trying to stop cutting ever since Paige told the counselor. She just hadn't been able to stop completely.  
  
She looked around, and realized she was almost home. *I'll wait till I get there. * She slid the razor blade back into her arm stocking, and sped up her pace.  
  
She stopped in front of her house and took a deep breath as she stepped onto the front lawn, and began to walk to the door.  
  
There was a strange object on the porch. As she got closer, she realized it was a person sitting there.  
  
"Hello?" she called wearily. Ellie stood where she was, waiting for the person to respond.  
  
"Ellie? It's me," the voice groaned.  
  
"Sean?" The way the person moaned made Ellie unsure of who it was.  
  
Ellie approached the step he was sitting on, and soon as she saw him, she took a step back, "Wha . . . what happened?"  
  
His face was drained of all its color. But replacing the natural color were purple bruises, red blood, and a black eye.  
  
Sean hawked a loogie, "Got into a fight."  
  
Ellie rolled her eyes, "I kinda got that. Come on, let's go inside," she grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Almost immediately, he doubled over, clutching his side.  
  
Ellie felt sympathy pains as she draped his arm over her shoulders, and carefully led him inside. They passed the livingroom, and went straight to the bathroom.  
  
"Who did you get into a fight with?" Ellie asked as she pulled the first aid kit out from under the sink.  
  
Sean was sitting on the side of the tub, and he watched as Ellie got the rubbing alcohol out, "Well, uh, Towerz was, uh, talking crap about Marco and Dylan."  
  
Ellie poured some rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball, and walked over to him, "That's never bothered you before. So, they beat the crap outta you because . . ."  
  
Sean flinched as the cold cotton touched his face, and stung the cuts, "Well, I kinda, uh, told them to stop, and well, they thought it was because of you."  
  
Ellie pulled the cotton away from his face so she could look at him, "What do you mean they thought it was because of me?"  
  
"They thought I was defending Marco because of you. They thought I liked you, or something," Sean shrugged it off.  
  
"And how did this lead to a fight?" Ellie brought the cotton ball back to his face.  
  
"After somebody came up with that assumption, they started being really . . . crude. They wouldn't shut-up, and maybe I got a little angry . . ."  
  
"You tried to fight all of them?" Ellie asked, completely astonished at Sean's stupidity.  
  
"No . . ." Sean began.  
  
"Good," Ellie was relieved, "You couldn't have been that dumb. Wait, then how did you get hurt?"  
  
Sean sighed, "I just went after Jay. His comments were the . . ."  
  
"Sean!" Ellie exclaimed. She poured more peroxide onto the cotton ball, and pressed it harder against his skin than before, making Sean flinch again, "What were you thinking? You know Jay is their God, or something. You pick a fight with him, you pick a fight with the whole gang. Why would you do something like that? It doesn't matter if he says anything about, I don't care Sean."  
  
Sean carefully pushed her hand away from his face, "Ellie, it does matter. For being a person who supposedly doesn't take crap from anybody, you sure let people walk all over you. You need to think you're worth it, Ellie. You need to think that you're worth something, that you're a strong, wonderful person. I know I do."  
  
Ellie had her head down the entire time Sean spoke, but soon as he finished, she couldn't help but look up, "You think I'm a wonderful person?"  
  
Sean was confused by her tone. She didn't sound happy, or angry, maybe . . . shocked? Sean slowly nodded his head, "Ellie, you're smart, beautiful, interesting," he paused as he slowly rolled her arm stocking up, and the blade fell out. He wasn't expecting that, but he didn't change his tone, "You just make some bad decisions," he lightly traced the scars on her arm.  
  
Her immediate reaction was to justify the cuts, even though he had seen the razor blade. Soon as she opened her mouth, Sean knew what she was going to do, and he said, "Ellie, excuses are like ass-holes. Everybody has one, and they all stink," he gave her a small smile that she didn't return.  
  
Ellie looked down at her arm, which Sean lightly held. She felt so ashamed of herself. She cleared her throat, "I need to finish cleaning your cuts," she carefully slid her arm from Sean's grip, and went to roll up her arm stocking.  
  
Sean stilled her hand, "Don't hide who you are when you're around me. If this isn't the person you wanna be, then don't be her."  
  
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Ellie would have laughed at how deep Sean was trying to sound.  
  
She smiled, "Well, you need to stop acting like a badass, cause I know that deep down, you're just a big fluffy bunny," Ellie joked.  
  
Sean rolled his eyes, "No more pretending," he pointed at her arm, "And no more lying. If you cut yourself, tell me. I won't get angry, I'll just be concerned."  
  
Ellie nodded her head, "And if you steal something, tell me. I'll be angry and concerned," Ellie smiled, but her expression quickly changed when she saw the anger in Sean's eyes.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"   
  
Ellie bit her lower lip, "I just meant that-"  
  
Sean cut her off, "That I'm some kind of criminal?" He stood up and started to walk toward the door.   
  
Ellie jumped up as quickly as she could and ran in front of the door, "You need to cool off Sean."  
  
He stared in her in the eyes, and took a deep breath, before sitting back down. "You can't jump to conclusions like that. Jay does that sort of thing though. He supposedly stole Mr. Simpson's new laptop. And, I don't believe this part, cause I've learned not to buy into rumors, but lots of people think you helped. Some are even going as far as to say it was your idea."  
  
Ellie looked at Sean expectantly. *I don't want to ask him, because then he'll think that I believe he would do something like that. *  
  
There was a long awkward silence, and Ellie began cleaning Sean's face. She was surprised when he spoke, "What if I did?"   
  
"It wouldn't matter," Ellie answered truthfully. If he can deal with my mistakes, I can deal with his.  
  
Sean slowly nodded. Ellie was wondering if he would ever do something like that again, when Sean said, "It will probably happen again."  
  
"Sean, start looking for better qualities in yourself. Don't always assume the worse."  
  
"I don't have any good qualities," Sean admitted.  
  
Ellie unconsciously put her hand on his arm, and was surprised by the large muscles she felt, "Sean, you have a lot of great qualities. You're strong, emotionally and physically, your sweet, considerate, hot, funny, feel free to stop me."  
  
Sean smiled, "You think I'm hot . . ." he teased.  
  
Ellie immediately became defensive, "I didn't mean, well . . . you said I was beautiful."  
  
"I meant it," Ellie suddenly felt how close she was to Sean, and he was coming closer. *Is he gonna kiss me? * She suddenly felt very nervous.  
  
Sean slowly leaned in, and just barely brushed her lips with his own. 


	8. Plotting Revenge

Their kiss started to deepen, and Sean realized how right it felt. *I've kissed lots of girls, but I've never felt this compatible with anyone. Not even Emma.*  
  
Eventually they pulled away, and Ellie was searching Sean's eyes for answers. She didn't find any, cause he was just as amazed and confused as she was. He suddenly felt the pain from his split lip returning, and began to stand up.  
  
"Um, Ellie, I should probably be going home . . . Tracker's expecting me and all . . ." Ellie nodded promptly.  
  
Sean stood up and started to open the door. He paused, and turned to look back at her. Soon as he made eye contact with her, he felt a tingling sensation in his stomach. He quickly shut the door behind him, and leaned against it. *What the hell was that? Did I just get the infamous "butterflies"? What is up with this girl?*  
  
Sean sighed, then headed toward the livingroom. He saw Ellie's mom passed out on the couch, and the images of his parents clouded his memory. He looked toward the bathroom door, and decided that she'd be in there a while, trying to figure things out.  
  
Sean walked over to the couch, and grabbed a few bottles off the coffee table. He walked into the kitchen, and poured any remaining liquid down the sink, and filled them with equal amounts of water.  
  
As he walked toward the front door, he replaced the bottles onto the coffee table, and walked outside. *This isn't how I act. I don't get nervous around girls. I don't feel uncomfortable silences with girls. What the hell is up with this girl?*  
  
  
  
*What just happened?* Ellie thought to herself as she sat on the tile floor of the bathroom. *I should've stopped him. We need to talk about this.* She let out a deep breath. *What am I thinking? It was just an accident. There's nothing to talk about. I'll just forget about this. He probably just got caught up in the moment. Nobody would kiss me on purpose.*  
  
Ellie slowly got up, and walked to the livingroom. She could hear her mom moaning, so she walked over to the couch. Ellie saw some vomit on the floor, and began to clean it up. After she finished, she grabbed the bottles on the coffee table, and walked to the kitchen sink. As she opened them, she prepared herself for the vile scent of alcohol, and was surprised when she hardly smelled any. As she poured the liquid down the sink, she noticed how much clearer it was.  
  
She refilled the bottles with water and set them back on the table. Ellie headed to her room to listen to some music, and forget about the crazy day she had.  
  
  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" Tracker asked as Sean entered the house.  
  
Sean ignored him and hobbled toward his room, but Tracker followed him, "Who did you fight with?"  
  
Sean tried to disregard his questions, but Tracker wouldn't shut-up, "Sean, did Jay and all of them have something to do with this? I told you they were a bad influence."  
  
"Sometimes I forget which one of us is supposed to be the irritating little brother," Sean mumbled as he pulled off his sweatshirt.  
  
Tracker smirked as he leaned against the doorframe of Sean's room, "What happened?"  
  
"Didn't you already ask that?" Sean asked as he slipped out of his pants, and put on a pair of sweats.  
  
"Going to bed?" Tracker asked.  
  
Sean rolled his eyes and straightened out his white wife-beater. He winced as he laid on his bed, for his side had many bruises. Sean stared at the ceiling, and waited for Tracker to leave.  
  
Finally, Tracker realized that Sean wasn't going to tell him how he had gotten his face rearranged. He turned off Sean's light, and walked out of the room.  
  
Sean sighed as he laid on his back. *Maybe for once, things will work out.*  
  
  
  
The next day, Sean called Ashley and got Ellie's phone number. He dialed the number, but hung up before it even rang once. *Maybe she knows I'm not good enough for her.* He thought about trying again, but was too afraid of what she'd say.  
  
Ellie sat be the phone, waiting for a call from Sean, but it never came. *Maybe he knows I not worth anything.*  
  
Soon Monday came around, and Ellie and Sean had both convinced themselves that what had happened was a mistake.  
  
Ellie walked down the hall, not caring about the people staring at her; she was used to it. *Just another exciting day at Degrassi Community School!*  
  
She opened her locker, and heard a familiar voice, "Where were you yesterday?"  
  
Ellie let out a deep breath. Ashley was one of her best friends, but right now, she didn't feel like talking.  
  
"At home," Ellie answered simply as she pulled a text book out of her locker.  
  
Ashley shrugged, "I called and nobody answered," she lowered her voice, "Ellie, is everything okay?"  
  
Ellie closed her locker, "Everything's fine Ash," she readjusted her messenger bag, and started down the hallway.  
  
She was surprised that Ashley didn't follow her, but she was also relieved. Ellie rolled her eyes at all of the posters hanging up on the walls, advertising the upcoming dance.  
  
As she turned the corner, she ran straight into someone.  
  
"Watch where you're going," Ellie scolded.  
  
"Hey, Ellie, have you seen Ash?" Ellie looked up, and saw that the person that had run into her was Craig.  
  
He knelt down, and helped her pick up her stuff, "Yeah, she was over there," Ellie pointed in the direction she had just come from.  
  
"Thanks Ellie," Craig handed her a notebook she had dropped. The bell rang, and Craig waved goodbye.  
  
Ellie nodded, and walked to her first period class. She sat down in Media Immersion, and waited for the class to begin. The class was slowly filling up, so she decided to check her email. Ellie slightly smiled when she saw she had two emails. With Marco always out with Dylan, and Ashley busy with her own problems, Ellie didn't get much email.   
  
The first one was from Ashley, asking where she had been on Sunday. The second was form Paige:  
  
From: A1chick What's going on?  
  
To: NOlabels,  
  
Hey Ellie! Dylan said he saw you and Sean at The Dot on Saturday night! Is something going on between you two?! Hun, I'm happy if you've found someone, but Sean isn't exactly the best person in the world. I don't think that id would be a good idea for you and him to get involved, especially with all the other stress in your life.  
  
Did you hear about the dance?! It's going to be great! I don't know who I'm going to go with . . .you probably already heard how I broke up with Spin. I'm tired of putting up with his homophobia, and he's been acting real immature. Well, I'll talk to you later!  
  
~Paige~  
  
  
  
Ellie sighed as she deleted the email. *She told Spin.* Sean hadn't told anybody about what had happened outside of The Dot on Saturday. But now, Ellie knew. *Paige was right about Spinner being immature, but what's new?* Ellie prayed that he wouldn't tell anybody else about her cutting.  
  
*Why does she always have to have the gossip on everybody?* Ellie shook her head. *She thinks Sean isn't a good person to hang around with.*She felt anger boiling up insider her. Not only had Paige spilled her secret again, she had the nerve to tell her who she should and shouldn't hang out with!   
  
Ellie glared at Paige as she entered the room. Paige didn't seem to notice as she smiled and waved at her.  
  
The tardy bell, and Mr. Simpson started class.  
  
  
  
Sean slid off his brother's motorcycle, and waved goodbye as Tracker took off. He removed his helmet, and began to walk up the steps of Degrassi Community School.   
  
As he reached the double doors, he heard someone call his name, "Hey, Cameron,'  
  
"Crap," Sean muttered to himself as he turned to face the voice from the street. *I really don't feel like talking to Jay.  
  
Jay motioned for Sean to come down to him. *Don't do it.* Sean told himself. *Ellie and Tracker are right. I shouldn't hang out with him.* At the thought of Ellie's name, he realized that he didn't want to be at school right now. He decided to take his chances with Jay, so he started to walk back down the steps.  
  
*I wonder what he's going to say about Saturday night.* Sean had fought those few members of the gang that had tried to pick a fight with Jay. He himself had never been stupid enough to go after Jay. Sure, Jay did lots of things Sean didn't agree with, but he was Jay's right-hand-man, so he went along with them.   
  
When he first started hanging out with them, some people in the crew felt that Sean didn't "earn" his spot in the gang. There had been many occasions when somebody would try to jump him, but Sean had always managed to kiss their ass. Soon, everybody knew Sean could beat them up, and decided to leave him alone, though they were still angry at him. On Saturday night, when Jay had given them the opportunity to gang up on him, they took it. On Monday morning, everyone was certain that Jay wouldn't speak to Sean again.   
  
When Jay called Sean over, Towerz looked at Jay, completely disgusted. *What the hell? Sean insulted Jay, and tried to beat him up! So why is he calling him over right now?* Towerz watched the inner struggle Sean was having. *He's probably afraid of us.* As Sean started to come toward them, a small smile played on Towerz lips. *If Jay ain't gonna make him pay . . .I will.*  
  
A/N:  
  
Thanks for the reviews! A special thanks to Ellectra and Poppyseed for reviewing practically every chapter! :) ! Another thanks to PsYcHoJo , I love your story "Numb" ! I'll try to update as soon as possible!  
  
~*Sammi~*~ 


	9. Consequential Actions

"Hey, Ellie!" Ellie rolled her eyes as she heard Paige's voice calling after her. She slowly turned around to face her.  
  
"Hi Paige," she mumbled.  
  
"So . . ." Paige tried to pry information out of Ellie.  
  
"So . . . what?" Ellie played dumb.  
  
Paige furrowed her brow, "Hun, didn't you get my email?"  
  
Ellie's eyes narrowed, "Oh, you mean the one that said you broke up with Spinner? The one that explained how Spinner found out about . . ." she lowered her voice, "My secrets."  
  
Paige's eyes widened in horror, "What did he say?"  
  
"It doesn't matter what he said Paige. It matters that you told him," Ellie started to walk away, but stopped herself, and turned to face Paige as she said cooly, "I don't give a crap what you think of Sean. You obviously have very poor taste. I mean, you went out with Spinner."  
  
Ellie continued walking nonchalantly down the hall. She knew that she looked fine on the outside, that was her intention as always. But she always hated feeling that way. She hated pretending. Just like every other time something went wrong, she began to look for something to make her feel better. The only difference, was that instead of finding the nearest sharp object, she was looking for Sean.  
  
  
  
Sean sat in the back seat of the car. *Back to square one.* Usually, when Jay was driving, Sean rode shotgun. This time, Towerz was up front with Jay. *It's not like it matters.* But he knew it did. Jay wasn't going to care so much if one of the guys tried to beat him up. Before, if Jay found out somebody was messing with Sean, they'd get in trouble. Now, Sean would have to watch his back wherever he went.  
  
As Towerz lit a cigarette, Sean shook his head. *What the hell am I doing here?* He used to not care if somebody smoked. He'd even done it. Hell, he'd done a lot worse. But for some reason, he felt that he was . . . above that? Sean shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. *I'm not better than they are. I'm lucky they let me back in.*  
  
"Towerz," Jay demanded, "I got a way to get that cash we need."  
  
They slowed to a halt in front of a big green house. *Crap. We've never done a house before.* Sean was wondering what was going on. They'd shoplifted from stores, and took a couple things from school, but never anything from somebody's house.   
  
"Anybody home?" Towerz asked Jay as he stared at the house.  
  
"Shouldn't be," Jay shrugged, "She should be at work. Sean will look ou in case she comes home for lunch."  
  
Sean sighed as he got out of the car with Towerz. He hadn't been a lookout, since, well, never. Mr. Simpson's laptop was his first job, and he had been the one to steal it.  
  
Sean watched as Jay slowly drove down around the block. *I shouldn't have come.*  
  
Towerz pointed to the corner of the house, "Get over there," he snarled.  
  
Sean rolled his eyes as he put up his hood, and walked over to the drain pipe. He watched as Towerz carefully broke into the house.  
  
He waited for an alarm, figuring a house that big had to have an alarm. Nothing went off. He shrugged his shoulders, and watched the houses across the street, making sure the noisy neighbors kept their curtains shut.  
  
Sean heard a short honk, and looked around the corner to where Jay was parked. He jerked his head down the street, and Sean saw a black Mercedes slowly coming toward the house. Sean quickly went in the way Towerz had, and scrambled to find him.  
  
"Towerz!" Sean called urgently. *Keep calm.* He kept telling himself over and over to stay calm.  
  
He ran up the stairs, and as he did so, he heard the car pull into the driveway. *Crap!* He hurried into what he figured was the master bedroom.  
  
"Towerz?" He whispered. *Where is he?!* He heard somebody climbing the stairs, and coming toward him.  
  
Sean sighed as he jumped under the bed. *When I find you Towerz, I'm gonna kill you!*  
  
He watched as a pair of black high heeled shoes walked into the room. Sean couldn't help but check out her legs as she walked by. *Those legs look familiar . . .* Sean was trying to figure out who it was, when all of a sudden, it him. *Ms. Hatzilakos!* Sean tried to control his breathing as she rummaged through her jewelry box looking for something. She couldn't seem to find what she was looking for, so she hurried out of the room.   
  
*Did Jay know we were at her house?* Sean felt a surge of anger run through his veins. He waited for the sound of her car to start, before climbing out from under the bed.  
  
"Towerz!" He yelled, "Where the hell are you?!"  
  
He ran down stairs, and carefully went outside, hoping that Towerz had snuck outside. As he went around the corner, and saw Jay's car. Jay and Towerz was standing outside, and Jay was yelling at Towerz.  
  
"You left him in there? Do you even know who's house this is?" Towerz was cowering in front of Jay, and Sean couldn't help but smirk.  
  
*Jay had to have known it was Ms. Hatzilakos' house. Was this some sort of test?*  
  
Jay noticed Sean's presence, "Sean, get in the car."  
  
Towerz looked at Sean, "Are you okay?"  
  
As Sean opened his mouth, Jay answered for him, "Yeah, he's fine. And Towerz, you're lucky you have someone like him looking out for you. Personally, I would've left your sorry ass there, had I not known who's house this was. And after the way you just ditched Sean, I'm sorry he didn't."  
  
"Who's house is this?" Towerz asked.  
  
Jay shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Get in the car."  
  
Towerz started to get into the front seat, but Jay stopped him, "Sean rides shotgun."  
  
Sean glared at Towerz as he hopped into the passenger's seat.  
  
Towerz glowered as he climbed into the backseat.  
  
They started to drive, and Jay looked into the rearview mirror, "Towerz, pass up the booze."  
  
Towerz sighed as he pulled a flask out of his jacket. He handed it up to Jay, who took a swig out of it, and passed it to Sean. Sean hesitated for a moment, considering the consequences. *It's not like it matters. Jay stood up for me. This is who I am.* He held the flask up to his lips, and took a long gulp.  
  
As they arrived back at school, Sean started to feel himself loosen up, "Hey, Towerz, man, did you get anything from the house?"  
  
Towerz smirked, "Ya, I got some jewelry crap," Sean thought about seeing Ms. Hatzilakos going through her jewelry box. *So he was in the master bedroom.*  
  
"Towerz, give him his share," Jay ordered.  
  
Towerz glared at Jay in the rearview mirror, as he pulled a charm bracelet out of his jacket. He reluctantly threw it up to Sean.  
  
Sean inspected the bracelet. It was silver, and had many different kinds of charms on it. Many looked like a teenager would buy, but he figured Ms. Hatzilakos was pretty young. One charm said "Rock" and was in the shape of a guitar. Another was a star with a blue stone that said "I wish". Sean thought it was pretty cool, and wondered who he could sell it to. Then he realized he didn't have to sell it. *Ellie. Ellie might like it.* Soon as he thought of her name, he knew he had screwed up.  
  
*I can't go back to school like this. If she sees me, she'll know I'm a little . . . tipsy.* Sean sighed. *This is just like me. I always screw up!*  
  
His thoughts were interrupted as Jay blasted the stereo as "Headstrong" by Trapt came on.  
  
Sean stopped thinking, and began to listen to the music. He felt much relaxed as the song got over, and they climbed out of the car.  
  
"See ya later, Sean," Jay waved goodbye as they parted ways in the hall.   
  
*Okay. Where do I gotta go?* Sean wondered to himself as he strolled down the hallway. The bell rang, and people started to file out classes.  
  
Sean saw Spinner coming out of a class, and jogged to catch up with him, "Hey, Spin! Wait up man! What period is this?" Sean wasn't aware of his slight slurring.  
  
Spinner raised one eyebrow. He was confused, but didn't dare question Sean, "Just got outta fifth."  
  
"Thanks man!" Sean gave Spinner a high-five as he passed. He put his hands down deep in his pockets, and felt the charm bracelet. *I should find Ellie.*  
  
He walked around, checking in each class as they started to fill up. He finally found Ellie at her locker, and slowly approached her with the intention of scaring her.  
  
He slowly crept up behind her, and then quickly grabbed her sides, making her scream.  
  
He turned her around to face him, "Sean? What the hell was that for?" Ellie said as she smacked him with a notebook.  
  
"Owe! And to think, I was about to give you a present . . ." Sean smiled.  
  
*What's up with him?* Ellie was confused by Sean's behavior. *He's so . . .so happy.*  
  
Sean still hadn't released her sides as he stared into her eyes. He quickly leaned in and kissed her.  
  
Ellie was taken aback, but she kissed him back. *Is that alcohol?* She tried not to gag as they kissed. Soon, it was too much to bear, and she pulled back. As he drew away, he grabbed something out of his pocket.  
  
Ellie watched as a silver chain with many charms on it was hung in front of her, "Here, I got this for you."  
  
Ellie smiled as he put the bracelet on her wrist, but she had many questions, and the tardy bell had already rang, "Thanks, Sean. Where have you been all morning? At lunch, I went to your house to look for you, but Tracker said you weren't there."  
  
Sean let out a deep breath, "Tracker wasn't out looking for a job?"  
  
"Sean, that's not the point. Where were you, and why do you smell like alcohol?"  
  
*She's starting to act like Emma.* Sean tried to make it seem okay, "I was just having a little fun." He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head.  
  
Sean glared at her, "Ellie, what's your problem? I thought you accepted me for who I am," Sean complained.  
  
"I do. I do accept you for who you are Sean. But this isn't you. You're better than this. You're better than Jay and all those guys," Ellie felt that they had already had this conversation.  
  
"No, I'm not. So, if you don't like them, then you don't like me," Sean said.  
  
Ellie began, "I don't like them Sean . . . "  
  
"Then you don't like me," Sean finished and walked off.  
  
"Dammit Sean!" Ellie yelled as she slammed her locker shut.  
  
"Ms. Nash?" Ellie turned and saw Ms. Hatzilakos standing at her door, "You're disrupting my class, which I also think you're supposed to be in right now. I think we need to have a little trip to Mr. Raditch's office."  
  
*Could this day get any worse?* Ellie followed Ms. Hatzilakos down the hall.  
  
Ellie sat across from Mr. Raditch in his office, with Ms. Hatzilakos standing next to her. Ms. Hatzilakos explained how Ellie had been skipping class, using profanity, and disrupting her class.  
  
As Ellie put her hands up to defend herself, the charm bracelet she wore over her arm stocking jingled.  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos had loved charm bracelets for as long as she could remember. She always wore her favorite one to school, as a good luck charm. When she realized she had forgotten it, she rushed home at lunch to get it. She couldn't find it, and had to hurry back to school.  
  
She looked at Ellie's bracelet wondering what kind of charms she had. She recognized every single one.  
  
"Ellie, where did you get that bracelet?" She asked.  
  
Ellie thought about Sean. *Why did I even accept the stupid gift?!* She decided to lie, "At the mall."  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos eyed her suspiciously, "Are you sure about that?" 


	10. Disturbing Discoveries

*Why did she have to be like that?* Sean felt frustrated as he staggered down the school steps. *If all people, I thought she'd understand!* He almost got ran over by a car as he crossed the street. He walked angrily down the sidewalk toward his house. *I'm gonna lock all the doors, turn off all the lights, and veg in front of the TV.* As he approached his house, he saw his brother's motorcycle outside. *Dammit! Tracker is home!*  
  
Sean hesitated as he approached the door. *I might as well go in. I mean, what's he gonna do? Ground me?* Sean opened the door.  
  
He slid off his tennis-shoes, and slammed the door behind him, "Hello?" Tracker called wearily.  
  
Sean walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. Tracker was looking over the back of the couch, watching Sean.  
  
Tracker cleared his throat, "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Getting a soda," Sean answered sarcastically. *I'm getting a headache.*  
  
Tracker glared at Sean, "Why aren't you at school?"  
  
Sean rolled his eyes as he hopped over the couch, and plopped down next to Tracker, "Whatcha watching?"  
  
Tracker almost gagged when he smelled Sean's breath, "What the hell have you been doing?"  
  
"Aren't you just full of questions today," Sean answered as he reached for the remote. Tracker beat him to it, and turned the TV off.  
  
"I can handle the disrespect. I can handle the arguing. Hell, I can handle you skipping school. But Sean, I'm tired of putting up with the drinking."  
  
"How long have we been married?" Sean asked as he took a drink of soda.  
  
"Listen to me, okay? Your social worker would kill me, and you for that matter, if she found out all the crap I've let you get away with. I'm not gonna put up with this anymore. That whole zero tolerance policy."  
  
"And if I don't agree?" Sean dared.  
  
"Then you'll be out on your ass," Tracker declared.  
  
Sean stood up and began to go to his room. Tracker raised one eyebrow before following him down the hall.  
  
Sean had a bag out on his bed, and was throwing stuff out of his dresser, "What're doing?"  
  
Sean huffed, "I'm going to screw up again. You know it. I know it. So let's just save some time and I'll leave now."  
  
"Sean, let's just talk about this," Tracker began.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about, Tracker. I'm saving you the trouble of kicking me out. I'm kicking myself out," Sean grabbed his bag and pushed past Tracker.  
  
"Sean, get back here," Tracker called over his shoulder as Sean walked down the hall.  
  
He didn't stop. Sean walked out the door, and headed out onto the street. As he put his headphones on full blast, he heard Tracker yell, "God dammit, Sean! Get bak here NOW!"  
  
  
  
*What is she talking about?* Ellie didn't understand why it would make a difference where she got the bracelet.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure I got it at the mall," Ellie answered unsurely. *That's probably where he got it anyway.* Ellie shivered at the thought of Sean. *I should've thrown it at him or something.*  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos' eyes narrowed. *She could've gotten it at the mall, but what are the chances that she would've chosen the exact same charms.*  
  
Mr. Raditch was completely clueless as to what was going on.  
  
"I have – *had* a bracelet exactly like that," Ms. Hatzilakos said.  
  
*What's going on?* Ellie unconsciously raised one eyebrow. *Does she think I took it or something?*  
  
Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but Ms. Hatzilakos cut her off, "Miss Nash, I don't think you understand how serious this is. My charm bracelet was missing this afternoon, and I have reason to believe it was stolen. If you have something to tell me, you better say it right now."  
  
Ellie's eyes widened in anger. *He gave me stolen property?! He gave me *Ms. Hatzilakos'* property?!* Ellie was furious. She opened her mouth to admit that Sean had given it to her, but was shocked when instead, she said, "I'm sorry."  
  
*Why did I do that?* Ellie didn't understand her own actions as she removed the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Ms. Hatzilakos, "I understand if you want to expel me."  
  
*Why is she confessing?* Ms. Hatzilakos was surprised at Ellie's honesty. *Well, maybe I won't have to report this to the police.* Ms. Hatzilakos smiled at Ellie, then her expression suddenly changed. *Wait, why would she sneak into my house just to take a charm bracelet? It's not like it was that expensive.*  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos cleared her throat, "Is there anything else, Miss Nash?"  
  
*How much did that son of a bitch steal?!* Ellie let out a deep breath, "Yes, Ms. Hatzilakos."  
  
*Maybe I will have to report this.* She looked back at Mr. Raditch who looked like he couldn't wait to fill out the expulsion papers, "Mr. Raditch, I think that maybe since this doesn't concern you, Miss Nash and I will continue this conversation later. Ellie, I'll see you in detention after school."  
  
Ellie nodded her head and quickly walked out the door. Ms. Hatzilakos turned to Mr. Raditch, "I don't think you should worry about Miss Nash's punishment, considering that this happened off school property. So, please, don't do anything."  
  
Mr. Raditch nodded his head as Ms. Hatzilakos exited.  
  
*Why didn't I tell?!* Ellie cursed herself. *I don't like him. I can't like him.*Ellie looked at the ground as she walked back to class. *Why would I care if he got in trouble? He should, shouldn't he? I don't even know if that stupid bracelet was the only thing he took!*   
  
She saw her class down the hall, and the sign for the girls bathroom on the right. She let out a deep breath as she turned to the right.  
  
Sean had his grey sweatshirt, black beanie and baggy blue jeans on as he walked through the town. People would occasionally stare at him, but would quickly turn back to whatever they were doing. He had his headphones on full blast, trying to block out the world and the irritating headache that he felt coming on. As hard as he tried, all the things people had said about him filled his mind. Emma had called him pathetic. Jimmy had called him a criminal. Paige thought he was no good. Then he thought about Ellie. *"I do accept you for who you are Sean. But this isn't you. You're better than this. You're better than Jay and all those guys,"* Sean felt like he was going to be sick. *I'm not better than them. I gave her a stolen gift. I worse than them.* It became to much to think about, and he quickly ran over to nearest garbage can and threw up.  
  
He didn't notice the people staring as they walked by him. He wiped off his mouth, and wearily stood up from his hunched position. *She's too good for me. I can't pretend anymore. I promised myself that I would never be something I wasn't after the incident with Emma. If Ellie doesn't accept me for what I am, then to hell with her.* He slowly got his confidence back as he walked the sidewalk and listened to his C.D.   
  
I can't remember  
  
The last time you cared about anything  
  
The last time you allowed yourself to be seen  
  
So pretentious your lies unrelenting disguise  
  
Creating tears in your eyes your mind withers and dies  
  
Pretending to be something you are not  
  
Somewhere in the middle you are now caught  
  
You've never seen who you really are  
  
No life breathes in you  
  
All the time you laugh you wait  
  
you cry  
  
No part of your life is true  
  
All the time your life passes you by  
  
I don't ever want to see I don't ever want to be like you, Hollow Man  
  
I don't care what you give  
  
Hollow Man you can't live like this  
  
Your voice is just a whisper  
  
You call upon your blank thoughts as you try  
  
To fit in where you missed her  
  
You missed the chance to stop living a lie  
  
A/N:  
  
Short chapter, I know, but I wanted to put something up. The lyrics are from "Hollowman" by Trapt on the C.D., well I think it's a self-titled C.D. Once again, thank you to everyone who is reading this, and a special thanks to those who take the time to review! You guys are awesome and make me feel happy! :)  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	11. Shocking Information

Ellie could feel the band-aid under her shirt. She had started carrying them in her backpack after the first time she had bled through her shirt at school. She was ashamed for what she had done. Since she had been talking with Ms. Suave, the feeling of regret overwhelmed her each time she cut.   
  
Ellie entered Ms. Hatzilakos' class as she gripped her left arm. She didn't see Ms. Hatzilakos in the room, so she quietly took a seat. *I wonder if I should just tell her the truth.* Ellie unconsciously was scratching one of the cuts that was starting to heal through her shirt. *She won't believe me. It'll just sound like I'm trying to save my own skin.* Ellie began to rub the cuts more roughly as her anxiety built. *I wonder what she's going to say. I wonder what she's going to do! I can't believe I got myself into this!* She felt herself break the skin on one of her scabs, and immediately was brought back to reality. * Crap.* She looked around to make sure nobody was in the class, before grabbing another band-aid out of her bag, and quickly pulling up her sleeve. After she had put it on, she rolled her sleeve back down, and took a deep breath.  
  
"Hello," Ellie was startled by Ms. Hatzilakos' voice.  
  
"Hi Ms. Hatzilakos," Ellie stared down at her hands folded in her lap.  
  
"Well, I don't know where exactly to start," Ms. Hatzilakos began as she sta down behind her desk, "But I found out that you've been seeing the school counselor."  
  
Ellie straightened up. *I thought there was some sort of privacy policy.* Ellie waited for Ms. Hatzilakos to continue, but when she didn't Ellie asked, "Did she tell you anything?"  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos shook her head, "No, I didn't ask. I just was wondering if you were suffering from stress."  
  
*Is she trying to be one of those caring teachers?* Elie was unsure of how to react to the way Ms. Hatzilakos was acting, "Just the ususal teenage problems," Ellie shrugged.  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos slowly nodded her head. *I don't think she would do something like this. I don't think she would steal from anybody. She definitely wouldn't break into my house.* Ms. Hatzilakos could tell Ellie was covering for somebody. She began, "So, Ellie, where did you find my bracelet?"  
  
*Crap. Does she know or something? Where would Sean have gotten it? She knew it was missing today, so it must've been in her classroom. Maybe he didn't get it from the classroom, though.* Ellie closed her eyes as she let out a worried sigh, "Does it really matter?"  
  
*She's covering.*Ms. Hatzilakos could tell that Ellie was lying. She just wasn't sure why. Ms. Hatzilakos watched as Ellie squirmed in her chair., "Ellie, are you sure you don't have something to tell me?"  
  
"Could you just tell me what my punishment is?" Ellie almost pleaded. *I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to go home either. I just want this to be over. I can't tell her the truth now, and I don't think I want to. Sean's screwed up a lot, and I know that if his social worker found out about this, he would be gone. Tracker may not be the most reliable person in the world, but Sean needs him.*  
  
"I'm going to tell you the truth, and Ellie, I hope you will do the same,"Ms. Hatzilakos tried to bargain, "This bracelet was stolen from my room. Not my classroom, but a room in my house. That would mean, to get this bracelet, you had to break into my house. Now, I know you were at all of your classes today, so I don't know when you would have found time to go to my house."  
  
"I left at lunch, and came back before fifth period started," Ellie said evenly. *I really did leave at lunch and came back before fifth. At least I'm not lying about everything.*  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos slowly nodded her head, "I know that there were ten students absent today. Three were in a grade ahead of you, two were in your grade, and three were in grade nine. I really don't want you to get in trouble for something you didn't do."  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip, "Why does it even matter who did it? Just give me the punishment I deserve."  
  
"Just tell me who did it, and I won't have to punish you; well, you do have a weeks detention for disrupting my class with profanity, but I won't have to tell the police that Ellie Nash stole from me."  
  
Ellie covered her face with her hands, "Please Ms. Hatzilakos, just believe me! I did it! Nobody else!"   
  
"Ellie, we're not leaving here until you tell me who stole from me!" Ms. Hatzilakos didn't mean to raise her voice, but she was getting angry that Ellie was lying to her.  
  
"I don't want to ruin someone else's life," Ellie admitted. *She knows it wasn't me. I might as well just stop pretending.  
  
"Then you will ruin your own life," Ms. Hatzilakos said quietly/. *It was probably those stupid kids that run around acting all bad.* She looked Ellie over, trying to find answers. *Who is in that gang . . .* Ms. Hatzilakos tried to think of the names. *Jay! That's one of them. Does Ellie know him? There has to be someone else in the same grade as Ellie that hangs out with Jay.* She cleared her throat, "Was it Jay? Ellie are you covering for Jay? Did you see something and he tried to bribe you to keep quiet?"  
  
"No. It wasn't Jay," Ellie said truthfully. *I should just tell her.* Ellie sat up straighter, "What would you do to the person if I told you his name?"  
  
*Well, now I know for sure that it's a guy. It must be someone who hangs out with Jay.* Ms. Hatzilakos tried to think of a punishment, "I guess it all depends on what he stole, Ellie. If he comes clean, and gives me back my things, then I might I just give him a short suspension for skipping school."  
  
Ellie nodded her head. *Maybe he wasn't the only one. I don't think Sean would break into a house by himself. Jay and Towerz were probably involved. Ellie sighed, "Okay. You promise you won't report him to the police if he gives you back your stuff?" Ms. Hatzilakos nodded, "Well, I hope you keep your promise, because if you don't his social worker might take him away."  
  
"Sean Cameron?" All the teachers knew about Sean's situation. At the mention of a social worker, she knew it was Sean, "Ellie? Was it Sean Cameron?"  
  
Ellie looked at her feet as she slowly nodded her head, "I think others may have been involved."  
  
*Sean has been hanging out with Jay and that gang.* Ms. Hatzilakos tried to look Ellie in the eye, "Do you think Sean was the one to break into the house?"  
  
Ellie shook her head, "No, I don't think he would," *But then again, I have been wrong about Sean's principles.*  
  
"Okay, well, I'm going to go call his house, and you can go home," Ms. Hatzilakos said as she stood up, "Remember, you have detention every day this week."  
  
Ellie stood up as well, "Please don't report anything," she said as Ms. Hatzilakos walked out the door.  
  
"Hopefully I won't have to," she replied as she turned back toward Ellie.  
  
*Where the hell am I going?* Sean looked around. He hadn't been paying attention to where he had been going. He stopped walking as he came to an intersection. *Where the hell am I?* He had been walking through town, listening to his C.D. player, when all of a sudden, he looked up, and he was in the city. *Where am I going to go? I can't go home after telling Tracker off. I can't go to Emma's, cause, well . . . I can't go to Ellie's because I acted like a jerk. I could always go to Jay's . . .No, no I don't want to go there. I'll go to Craig's. That's it.* He turned around and began walking toward Craig's house.  
  
Ashley smiled as she sat next to Craig on the livingroom couch, "I'm glad we can hang out like friends."  
  
Craig turned his head away from the TV to look at Ashley, and he couldn't help but smile as well, "Yeah, I'm glad, too."  
  
*I know I can tolerate being alone with him. And I think I have forgiven him for cheating on me. Maybe soon, we can actually get back together.* Ashley settled back against Craig's arm, which was stretched out along the back of the couch.  
  
At first, Craig was surprised. *Did she do that on accident?* He couldn't believe how right it felt with Ashley leaning against his arm. *Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Ashley is the right one for me. I don't think that Manny and I could ever have a real relationship.*  
  
Craig smiled at Ashley again, and she smiled back. *This feels perfect. Spending this time with him was definitely a good idea.*  
  
Craig suddenly felt a strong urge to kiss Ashley. He stared into her eyes, and was almost certain that she wanted him to. He slowly leaned in, and suddenly the door flew open, "Hey man!"  
  
Craig looked to see who had interrupted him, and saw a shocked expression Sean's face, "Oh, crap. I'll just go."  
  
Sean turned to leave, when Craig sighed, "No, man, it's okay. What're you doing here, and have you ever learned to knock?"  
  
Sean closed the door behind him, and sat down in a wooden chair, "Well, Tracker and I got into this huge fight, and I kinda walked out."  
  
Craig's eyes opened in astonishment, "You ran away?"  
  
Ashley quietly slid further away from Craig on the couch. Sean saw, and felt the guilt of intruding on them return, "Are you sure you don't want me to go right now?"  
  
Craig looked back at Ashley who gave him a small smile, "It's okay, Craig, I should probably be going home now anyway."  
  
"Ash . . ." Craig didn't know what to say. He wanted her to stay, but he knew that she probably shouldn't hear whatever Sean was going to tell him, "I'll call you later, okay?"  
  
Ashley nodded her head as she walked out the door. Craig sighed as she closed the door, and he turned back to Sean, "So, what's going on?"  
  
"I skipped school today, and Tracker lost it," Sean summed it up.  
  
"That's it? Tracker let you walk out the door, just because you ditched school?" Craig was shocked. *I shouldn't have let Ashley leave. He can go back home. It's not like Tracker kicked him out.*  
  
"Well, not exactly. I may have been a little drunk at the time. He said if I screwed up again he'd kick me out," Sean admitted.  
  
"He gave you another chance?"Craig asked. Sean slowly nodded his head, "And you left?" Sean nodded his head again, "So, you're not even going to try? You just walked out?"  
  
"I'm just going to mess up again. What's the point in even trying? I figured I'd just save everyone some time and leave now," Sean said.  
  
"Where are you going to go?" Craig was concerned.  
  
"I don't know yet. Do you think I could stay here for a while?" Sean anticipated Craig's answer.  
  
Craig ran one hand through his curly hair, "I know you can stay one night. After that though, I don't know. If Joey found out you ran away, he's going to make you at least talk to Tracker. He can be very nosy."  
  
Sean rolled his eyes, "Man, maybe I should just go home."  
  
"That's a good idea," Craig smiled as Sean stood up and began to walk toward the door.  
  
"See you later. If I'm not at school tomorrow, call 911, Tracker probably killed me."  
  
  
  
Sean tried to think of what to say to Tracker as he walked home. He finally decided just to tell him about some of the things going on in his life, and hope for the best.   
  
He opened the door to his house with his key. He walked inside, and noticed all the lights were off. Tracker must be gone. He sat his bag down by the door, and noticed the red light on the answering machine blinking. He pressed the button as he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water.  
  
He almost spit the water out, when he heard Ms. Hatzilakos' voice, "I'm calling to talk to Mr. Cameron regarding his brother Sean. If he could call me back at . . ."  
  
He didn't hear the rest of the message, for at that moment, the front door swung open, and inside stepped two people, probably in their forties.  
  
Sean felt like throwing up, "Hi Mom. Hi Dad." 


	12. New Identities

Ellie sat at home, waiting for a call from Sean. *He's gonna be so pissed. I shouldn't care, though. I did as much as I could to help him.* She started to feel angry again. *Paige, of course, was right again. I should've talked to somebody instead of cutting. Sean was a bad person to hang around with. She must get tired of always being right.* Ellie knew she shouldn't care about what Sean was going to say to her, but she began to feel sick. *I screwed up. Not as bad as he did, but I should've found him before admitting the truth to Ms. Hatzilakos.* Ellie saw a bobby pin sitting on her dresser, and remembered how good it felt the last time she had pulled it across her skin. She closed her eyes as she contemplated what to do. *I need to find him.*  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sean was shocked. He steadied himself on the kitchen counter to keep himself from falling over.  
  
"Tracker called us and said that you ran away," Mrs. Cameron answered. At that moment, Tracker came in, carrying two suitcases.  
  
"You're back," Tracker sighed as he dropped the bags and ran over to give Sean a hug. Sean shoved him away.  
  
His parents walked over to sit down on the couch, "Why did you call them?" Sean whispered to his brother.  
  
"I thought you were gone, Sean. I know what a stubborn little . . ."  
  
"Why did you call them, Tracker?" Sean interrupted angrily.  
  
"They deserve to know what is going on with their youngest son," Tracker defended his parents.  
  
"No. They don't deserve that," Sean started to raise his voice, but lowered it when he realized his parents turned to see what was going on, "Tracker, we're fine by ourselves. Remember, we agreed to take care of each other."  
  
"I thought that, too, Sean. But when my little brother is coming home almost every night drunk off his ass, I begin to wonder if I'm holding up my end of the bargain. You have no idea what it's like to wonder if you're going to come home. I'm not talking about today, either. I'm talking about all those times when you're gone for two or three days, and I have no idea where you are."  
  
"You think they're gonna help? Tracker, do you think they're really gonna help?" Sean saw his brother's eyes were watery. *Is he going to cry?* In all of his life, Sean had never seen his brother cry.  
  
"I don't know how to help you anymore, Sean. I don't know if they're just going to make our lives worse. But maybe having them here will be a good thing. They're not drunks anymore, Sean. After you came to live with me, they tried to stop. I haven't spoken to them in a while, but I think they're doing better. Just give them a chance Sean."  
  
Sean glanced at his parents who were sitting on the couch watching TV, "Fine. But Tracker, if they screw up again . . .well, I dunno how much more I can take."  
  
Tracker watched as his little brother walked away from him, and into his room. Tracker turned his back to the livingroom, and faced the kitchen window. *Please let me have made one right decision.* A single tear rolled down his face.  
  
Ellie knocked on the Cameron's door. *Please be home. Please be home.* She pleaded. She was shocked when the door was flung open by an elderly man that wasn't Tracker.  
  
"And you are . . .?" The rude man asked. *I bet he's related to Sean.* Ellie assumed.  
  
"I'm a . . .a friend of Sean's," Ellie replied."  
  
"Hey, Sean!" The man yelled into the house, "Do you have a girlfriend?"  
  
"Not currently," Sean called back as he approached the door.  
  
"Well, there's a girl here to see you," the man stepped away from the door, so Sean could see.  
  
"Ellie? What're doing here?" He was fairly certain that she would never want to talk to him again. The man, still standing in the doorway, cleared his throat, "Oh, yeah. Ellie, this is my dad. Dad, this is Ellie Nash."  
  
Ellie stuck her hand out, "Nice to meet you Mr. Cameron."  
  
The man looked at her clothes, not returning her handshake, "Don't really go for the conventional girls, eh Seany?"   
  
Ellie glared at Mr. Cameron as she pulled her hand back. Sean glowered as well, "Ellie, let's go for a walk."  
  
He closed the door behind him, and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up, "What're you doing here?"  
  
"I thought you didn't live with your parents," Ellie stated.  
  
"I don't. Tracker thinks they might help us," Sean scoffed, "They're just gonna make things worse. I know that. But it doesn't matter, because Tracker doesn't know." Sean shook his head, "What're you doing here?"  
  
"Did Ms. Hatzilakos call you?" Ellie was afraid to bring it up, but she knew she had to.  
  
*How did she know about Ms. Hatzilakos?* Sean thought for a second, then realized it wasn't Towerz who had ratted him out. *The bracelet! She recognized the bracelet! Crap! Ellie's probably pissed! They probably accused her of taking it!*   
  
Sean stopped, and turned to face Ellie, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done it."  
  
*He's apologizing?* Ellie thought he would be angry at her for ratting him out. Then, suddenly, she realized he should be apologizing. *He should've been caught! He broke into a house, and stole jewelry! Then, he gave me that stolen jewelry! What a jerk! I was feeling horrible for telling the truth, but I shouldn't have. He did screw up!*   
  
Sean kept apologizing, "I'm sorry Ellie. If you don't ever want to talk to me again, I'll understand."  
  
"At first, I actually tried to cover up for you," Ellie admitted.  
  
"What?! Why would you do that?!" Sean was shocked that anyone would risk something for him.  
  
"I was afraid, that they might take you away," Ellie looked at the ground as she bit her lower lip. *Now I remember why I felt so sad.*  
  
"Why would they take me away?" Sean wasn't exactly sure what Ellie meant.  
  
"Your social worker. I figured if you were got stealing, then she send you to a foster home, or something. I thought I wouldn't get to see you again."  
  
Sean didn't know if it was possible, but it felt like his heart had just grown. He closed the small distance between himself and Ellie, and circled his arms around her waist, "There's something different about you Ellie Nash. I don't what it is, but for some reason, I have to be near you. You make me feel better about myself, like I'm almost worth something."  
  
Ellie blushed, and realized how serious the conversation was getting, "Wait a minute. I should be pissed at you," she laughed as she pushed against his chest.   
  
He reached up to hold onto her arm, and felt a raised surface under her long-sleeve-shirt.  
  
Ellie bit her lip, as Sean's face became grave. He slowly turned her arm over as he stared her in the eyes. He rolled up her sleeve, never once breaking eye contact. As she looked down at her arm, so did he.   
  
There were two band-aids on the underside of her arm. Ellie waited for Sean's reaction. She was surprised when he said, "I'm so sorry."  
  
He kept looking at her arm as she tried to look at his face. He carefully peeled one band-aid off. It was a thin, jagged, bright red line. He could see where whatever she had used to cut herself hadn't completely broken through the skin.   
  
Sean carefully traced the bumpy line with his index finger. Ellie still couldn't see his face. Suddenly, she felt something wet on her arm, she looked down, and saw a drop of water on her arm. She realized it was a tear. Soon, another one dropped from Sean's face.  
  
"Sean? Sean, what's the matter?" Ellie didn't know what was going on. She carefully lifted his face so she could see him. His cheeks were streaked with tears as he silently cried.  
  
"Ellie, I'm so sorry," he apologized again. As he cautiously pulled her sleeve back down.  
  
"Why are you apologizing?" Ellie put one hand up to cup his face.  
  
Sean leaned closer into her hand, "I shouldn't have let this happen."  
  
"Sean, it's not your fault,"Ellie reassured him.  
  
Sean shook his head as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, "I won't ever let this happen again. Okay? I'll be there anytime you need me. I'll be there for you."  
  
Ellie felt a tear roll down her face. *Great, now I'm crying, too.* She wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'll make sure you never feel alone again, Sean. I promise I'll never let people make you think they're better than you. Cause their not, Sean. You're so much better than them."  
  
It began to rain as they stood together, just staring into each others eyes. Slowly, Sean leaned in, and deeply kissed Ellie.  
  
A/N:  
  
Today was grade prep., so there was no school, giving me lots of time to write. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Hopefully in the next couple chapters I'll be able to describe the complicated and confusing relationship I've made Sean and Ellie have. Thanks to Michelle, Poppyseed, UHm, PsYcHoJo, Ali-Chan1, Ellectra, sayinjin7, BaLLin BaBi GrL, and anyone else who has taken the time to read this story! :)  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	13. Keeping Secrets

When they arrived back at Sean's house, they were both soaking wet. It was about seven o'clock as they opened the front door, giggling.   
  
"It's cold," Ellie managed to get out. They were almost halfway home, when it started pouring. Sean had grabbed Ellie's hand, and they took off running.  
  
Sean slipped out of his sneakers, and Ellie took off her boots. They saw Mr. and Mrs. Cameron and Tracker sitting on the couch as they crept toward Sean's room.  
  
Sean closed the door behind them, and turned on the little space heater on the ground. He pulled out of his sweatshirt, and threw it onto the floor. His wife beater was wet as well, so he grabbed another one out of his dresser.  
  
Ellie was looking around at the things in his room, and noticed he only had the basic things: an unmade bed, a dresser, and a side table. When she turned back to face Sean, he had his shirt off. She couldn't help but stare at his toned body. As he went to put on his grey wife beater, she saw his biceps flex, and while he was pulling it over his stomach, she watched his six-pack disappear under the material.  
  
She was still staring as he looked up at her, "Ellie? Ellie, are you okay?"  
  
Ellie snapped back to reality, "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
Sean noticed she was shivering, "Do you want something to change in to?"  
  
Ellie quickly nodded her head, "That would be great."  
  
Sean went through his clothes. Ellie could tell that he was looking for a long sleeve shirt. He finally found one in the back of his closet. It was navy blue without any symbols or designs. He grabbed two pairs of sweats out of his dresser, and handed her the smaller pair, "There going to be big on you, but there are drawstrings, so they can get a little smaller."  
  
Ellie nodded her head as she held the clothes in her arms, "I'm gonna go down to the bathroom, so you can change in here."  
  
Ellie nodded again as Sean left with a pair of black sweats. She could smell his scent on the clothes as she put them on. *He smells so good. . . what am I doing?!* She shook her head as she finished getting dressed. *I wonder if I'm allowed to be in here.*  
  
Sean sat with his family in the livingroom as he waited for Ellie to finish getting dressed. He stood up and walked to the bedroom door. *I don't want to just barge in. She might not be finished.* He knew he couldn't knock on the door, because his parents might hear. Tracker never cared when he had girls over in his room. Well, at least he never seemed to care. He would just go to his own room, or go for a walk. Sean wasn't sure how his parents would react to a girl being in his room.  
  
He quietly cracked the door open, and waited for Ellie to say something. When he didn't hear a response, he opened the door a little more. Still no answer. He took a chance, and opened the door all the way, and slipped inside. He closed his door, and quickly turned to face it.  
  
"Ellie?" he whispered. She didn't answer him, and he became a little worried. He slowly turned around and saw her lying on his bed.  
  
She had taken out her braids, and her red hair was spread out above her head as she laid on her side. He smiled at her sleeping figure, and picked up his comforter that was hanging off the side of the bed. He carefully pulled it over her, and turned off the light.  
  
It wasn't even eight o'clock, so he quietly shut the door behind him, and walked out into the livingroom. He sat down beside his brother.  
  
"Hey Seany, are we sleeping in your room?" Mr. Cameron asked. Sean glared at his older brother. His look clearly stated "There is no way in hell I'm going to let them in my room."  
  
Tracker nodded his head, "Actually, you guys are going to sleep in my room. I'll take Sean's bed and he'll have the couch."  
  
Sean kept staring at Tracker, "Tracker, can I talk to you in the kitchen?"  
  
Tracker was confused, but stood up and followed his little brother into the kitchen, "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not letting them sleep in your room. What more do you want?"  
  
"I want my room to myself," Sean requested.  
  
"I've got seniority on you, so I get the bed, and you get the couch,"Tracker explained.  
  
"Tracker, please, just let me have my room," Sean begged.  
  
"Why do you care?" Tracker said, "I'm your older brother, and legal guardian, so *I* get the bed."  
  
"Somebody already has the bed," Sean admitted.  
  
Tracker had a confused expression on his face, then suddenly, it dawned on him, "You gotta girl in there? Man, you don't waste any time, do ya? Can't you just ask her to leave?"  
  
Sean sighed, "Man, it's not like that. We didn't do anything, she just fell asleep."  
  
"I'm sorry Sean. Maybe next time . . ."  
  
"No, we weren't *going* to do anything. She doesn't exactly have the best home life either, and so I don't think she gets a lot of sleep. So can you please just take the couch?" Sean was getting frustrated.  
  
"Fine, fine, fine. But, man, you owe me," Tracker said as he grabbed a soda out of the fridge and made his way back into the livingroom.  
  
Sean sighed as he turned on his heel, and walked back down the hall. Tracker didn't have a space heater, so he had about three comforters on his bed. Sean grabbed one, and walked across the hall to his room.  
  
He quietly opened the door, and shut it behind him. Ellie was lying on er back, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"I thought you were sleeping," Sean said as he sat down on the foot of the bed. Ellie sat up, and scooted next to him.  
  
"I was, but I woke up. I should probably go home," Ellie's voice was groggy, and she struggled to stand up.  
  
"Why don't you just stay the night?" Sean suggested, "I'll wash your clothes tonight, and tomorrow morning, I'll you home."  
  
Ellie sat back down, and bit her lower lip as she contemplated whether or not to go home, "Okay," she agreed.  
  
Sean smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and grabbed her pile of clothes, "I'll be right back."  
  
Ellie laid back down, and covered herself up with the blanket. She hadn't slept well since her dad left. And right now, Sean's bed felt so comfortable.   
  
She was just about to fall back asleep, when the door opened. She sat up as Sean spread his blanket on the floor, "I'll sleep on the ground," Ellie offered. *He shouldn't have to sleep on the floor of his own house.*  
  
As she started to climb out of bed, Sean stopped her, "It's okay, Ellie. I'll be fine."  
  
Ellie sat on the edge of the bed, thinking if what she was about to do was a good idea, "Sean?" he had already lied down, and he grunted in response to his name. *He must be tired, too.* Ellie bit her lower lip, "Will you sleep up here with me?"  
  
Sean's eyes flew open. *Not a good idea, not a good idea.* He kept telling himself. *Say no, just say no.* He managed to squeak out, "I'm fine."  
  
"Sean, I'd really like it if you'd sleep up here with me," Ellie waited for his response.  
  
"Are you sure?" Sean asked as he rolled over to face her. That was a bad idea. Her wet hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and since his shirt was too big for her, one of her shoulders was exposed.  
  
Ellie nodded her head, and scooted over as she laid down. Sean carefully crawled into bed beside her, and pulled the covers over both of them. She smiled at him, and gave him an almost innocent kiss on the lips.  
  
"Sweet dreams Sean," Ellie said.  
  
"Goodnight Ellie," Sean replied.  
  
Sean smiled as she snuggled back against him. Her breathing started to slow, and he figured she had fallen asleep, "I think I'm falling in love with you, Ellie Nash," he whispered into her hair as he fell asleep.  
  
Ellie wasn't sleeping. She heard what he said, and she looked over her shoulder to see his peaceful face. She whispered back, "I love you too, Sean Cameron."  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Sean and Ellie both sat up straight at the sound of the screaming voice.  
  
"Dad, it's not what you think," Sean tried to explain as Mr. Cameron charged at him and threw him out of the bed. 


	14. Sneaking Suspicions

Sean fell against his side table, causing the lamp to fall over. Ellie jumped out of the bed, and shielded his body with her own. At that moment, Mrs. Cameron and Tracker came running through the room.  
  
"Oh crap," Tracker said, as he saw Sean huddled on the floor with Ellie covering him, staring at Mr. Cameron with hatred in her eyes.  
  
"Sean, what's going on?" Mrs. Cameron asked her son, as Ellie helped him stand.  
  
"I dunno, ask him," he said as he pointed an accusing finger at his father.  
  
Mrs. Cameron looked at her husband, waiting for an answer, "I found them in bed together."  
  
"Sean, you're fifteen years old," his mother screeched at him.  
  
Sean had one arm slung over Ellie's shoulders, and felt groggy, "We didn't do anything," Sean promised.  
  
"Then why was she here?"   
  
"She fell asleep, Tracker, tell them," Sean looked to his older brother for help.  
  
"Yeah, last night Sean asked me if she could stay, and I said yes," Tracker answered.  
  
His dad had calmed down a little, but became angry again, "You asked Trackers permission? We're your parents, but you asked your brother for permission?"  
  
Sean hobbled away from Ellie, and closer to his dad, "I asked the only person who has ever looked out for me. I asked the person who showed up to all of my games, sober, when I was younger and never made a scene. I asked my legal guardian for permission. And that's the way it should be. I know Tracker was trying to help when he called you guys, but it was a bad decision. You never help the situation. You only make it worse. I want everything to go back to normal. I want you guys to go back home. I'm glad that you supposedly "quit" drinking, but now there's no excuse for you guys to be horrible people. That's just who you are. You should just go home, and leave us the hell alone! Pretend like we don't exist like you have for the last fifteen years!"  
  
Ellie slowly walked up behind Sean, and placed a soothing hand on his arm, "It's okay, Sean," she whispered into his ear.  
  
"Sean, I am still your mother and you should respect me. You should respect your elders . . ."  
  
"Well, my parents never taught me that," Sean sneered, "But my brother did teach me to respect those who respect me."  
  
Tracker still stood in the doorway, quietly listening to the conversation. He made eye contact with Ellie, who looked absolutely frightened, "Hey, uh, you guys. How about we finish this later. . ."  
  
Everybody seemed to have forgotten he was there, except for Ellie, who gave him a look of appreciation, "Yeah, I think we're gonna go for a walk," Sean grabbed two sweatshirts out of his closet and, and handed one to Ellie. He glared at his father as they walked out of his bedroom door, and into the hall.  
  
"Just a sec," Sean whispered to Ellie as he ran down the hall to the laundry room, and grabbed their clothes out of the dryer.  
  
"Are you alright?" Ellie asked Sean as they walked out onto the sidewalk. *I'm wearing pajamas that don't even belong to me.* She thought about how strange she must look to the passers-by. *Oh, well, it's still early.*  
  
"I'm fine," Sean grunted. Ellie started to walk closer to him, and he put his arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry about that."  
  
"It's okay, it wasn't your fault," Ellie reassured him, "But where are we gonna change  
  
"I guess we can go to school. Nobody should be there yet, so we could just change in the bathrooms," Sean suggested, "Or we can go to your house."  
  
Ellie thought about the latter option. *I should probably check on my mom.*  
  
They quickly made their way to Ellie's house, trying to stay out of sight. They didn't notice as a front door opened, and somebody from inside the house watched them walk down the street in their sweats. An evil grin spread across Hazel Aden's face.  
  
Mrs. Cameron took plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, off the small tray she had found. *I just wanted to do something for him. I thought he'd like breakfast in bed.* She set out three plates for Tracker, Mr. Cameron and herself.  
  
They ate in silence, till Mr. Cameron cleared his throat and said, "I thought that maybe I should look for a job up here. Sean obviously needs us more than we thought."  
  
Tracker dropped his fork and turned his head to look at his dad, "Excuse me? You think you're going to stay here? When you guys called to say you were in Toronto, I brushed it off. I knew Sean wouldn't want to see you. But when I thought he had run away, I dunno, I thought we needed you. I thought *I* needed you. Maybe we're just better off by ourselves."  
  
Tracker stood up, and so did Mrs. Cameron, "Please, Tracker. I know how much Sean resents us, but please, I want to stay with my sons."  
  
"Fine. It's not like I'm gonna kick you out. But, you guys sleep in the livingroom. You can't boss Sean around like you're his parents. He's got the typical teenager 'pissed off' attitude, and he doesn't need you guys adding more stress."  
  
Mr. Cameron was about to protest, but Tracker shushed him, "Not a word Dad. Either you guys obey the rules, or you leave. It's all the same to me anyway."  
  
Ellie walked into her house, with Sean following wearily behind her, "The bathroom's right there if you want to go change," Ellie suggested.  
  
Sean nodded his head. He noticed Ellie staring down the hall at what he presumed to be her mom's room, "Everything's gonna be okay," he whispered in her here before kissing her cheek, and heading toward the bathroom.  
  
Ellie sighed as she gently knocked on her mother's door, "Mom? It's me, Ellie," she carefully opened the bedroom door, and saw her lying down across the bed.  
  
Ellie shook her head as she carefully pulled her mom's legs up onto the bed, and covered her up, "Everything's gonna be okay," she repeated Sean's words to her mom.  
  
As she was about to walk away, she saw her mother was holding a picture. Ellie cautiously slid it out of her grasp, and looked at it as she set it on the night stand. It was a family portrait from about five years ago. Ellie smiled when she saw how happy her family looked. She shook her head sadly. *We weren't really happy. I remember that day. The night before, Dad told us that he had to go away for training. Mom had stayed up all night long, and I could hear her crying in the livingroom. The next morning, with the magic of make-up, she fooled everyone. Including my dad. He thought she was fine. We got the picture taken, and two days later, he left. That's when she started drinking. A month or so later, when dad got back, he helped her stop. She was acting like normal again. Like the person I knew before Dad went and signed up. Of course, the moment he left this time, she was back to drinking. Back to pretending I didn't exist.*  
  
She felt a tear roll down her cheek, and immediately went to wipe it away. But someone else beat her to it. She noticed Sean was there as he gently brushed her tear away, "I'm sorry, Sean," she apologized.  
  
"You really need to stop apologizing so much," Sean said as he pulled her to him, "You should probably get dressed," he whispered into her ear.  
  
Ellie nodded her head. Sean turned her around, and led her out of the room. As he was about to close the door, he gave one last sorrowful look at Mrs. Nash. He shook his head and quietly shut the door.  
  
  
  
"With Sean Cameron?" Jimmy was shocked.  
  
Hazel nodded her head, "Yeah, they were walking down the street in pajamas. I think they were coming from Sean's house."  
  
"You think they . . ." Jimmy raised on eyebrow suggestively.  
  
"I don't know, but maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Hazel tried to reason.  
  
Jimmy slowly nodded his head. He still didn't really like Sean, but he didn't want to spread rumors about Ellie. *Sure, she's a little different, but I think she's really nice.* Jimmy remembered how much he had wanted to go out with her before. He almost laughed. *Yeah, like she'd really be interested in Sean Cameron.*  
  
"Yeah, you're right. It might ruin Sean and Ellie's reputations," Jimmy smiled at the thought of Sean actually having a reputation to ruin, "Don't tell anyone about seeing them together this morning."  
  
Hazel nodded, and they walked off together. They didn't notice as Emma walked around the corner with a shocked expression. She had heard the end of their conversation. 


	15. Frightening Consequences

Ellie smiled when Sean took her hand in his, and they entered the school. *Today is going to be great.*  
  
Then she saw Ms. Hatzilakos coming toward them. *Okay, maybe not so great.*  
  
"Ellie, Sean," Ms. Hatzilakos greeted them, "Could I see you two at lunch?"  
  
Sean and Ellie looked at each other wearily. They nodded their heads as Ms. Hatzilakos walked off, "Ellie, you probably don't have to come. I'll just go there and explain what happened,"Sean offered.  
  
Ellie shook her head, "No, I want to go. Besides, I need to be there to make sure you don't take all the blame."  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip as Sean released her hand, "I'm not going to betray them, Ellie."  
  
Ellie started to open her mouth to protest, but Sean stopped her as he started walking, "I'll talk to you later," he grumbled without turning around.  
  
Ellie sighed. *Sometimes I wonder if he suffers from schizophrenia. He'll act all sweet and caring one minute, and the next, he'll be cold and distant.* Ellie shook her head, and started to walk to her first period class.  
  
"Hey, Ash," Marco saw Ashley by her locker.  
  
"Oh, hi Marco," Ashley smiled as she closed her locker.  
  
"Have you seen Ellie anywhere? I kinda need to apologize to her," Marco admitted.  
  
Ashley wondered why Marco had to apologize. She shook her head, "Not yet,"  
  
"Ok, well, thanks anyway, Ash!" Marco smiled and walked off down the hall.  
  
*Maybe I should look for Ellie. I called her three times last night, and nobody answered.* Ashley was just about to walk toward Ellie's first period class, when she spotted Craig walking toward her.  
  
She smiled shyly as he approached her, "Hey."  
  
"Hey,"Craig greeted her, "So, about yesterday . . ."  
  
"Yeah," Ashley stopped him, then realized she didn't know what to say.  
  
*She's probably still angry at me.* Craig thought to himself. *But, maybe she isn't. Maybe she wanted us to kiss.* He stared just above her head, and saw a poster advertising for the dance on Friday night.  
  
"So . . .will you go to the dance with me?" Craig said it so quickly he wasn't sure that she would understand.  
  
Ashley nodded her head, "I'd love to."  
  
Craig nodded as well, "Great. That's great, I'll talk to you later then," he walked away smiling.  
  
Ellie stood outside of Ms. Hatzilakos' class. *I wonder if he's even gonna show up.* Her question was answered as Sean came staggering up to her. He let his backpack slip off his shoulder, and he slid it up against the wall.  
  
An uninterested expression was on his face. Ellie didn't know how he did that. She felt so anxious. She knew she shouldn't worry because she wouldn't get into too much trouble, but Sean's emotionless face made her feel even more nervous.   
  
"Should we go in?"Ellie asked.  
  
Sean just shrugged his shoulders. Ellie rolled her eyes as they entered the classroom.  
  
"Good, you guys came," MS. Hatzilakos motioned to the two chairs in front of her desk.  
  
They quietly took their seats, and Ellie immediately began fidgeting. Sean relaxed back into his chair, and waited for somebody to say something.  
  
"So, who wants to start?" Ms. Hatzilakos asked cheerfully.  
  
*Are we in therapy?* Sean wondered to himself. He wasn't sure why, but he was in a really crappy mood. He figured it had something to do with the disagreement he had with Ellie that morning.  
  
Sean planned on taking all the blame, just like Ellie told him not to. *Why shouldn't I? If I tell the truth, chances are Jay and Towerz will beat the crap outta me. And then I'll have the rest of the gang following me, waiting for a chance to get me. I'll just take the fall for this one. Jay would probably do the same for me.* As Sean opened his mouth, Ellie cut him off.  
  
"Ms. Hatzilakos, I'm sorry for taking up your time," Ms. Hatzilakos was surprised that Ellie was the first to speak. She figured Sean would try and defend himself.  
  
"Ellie, yesterday you told me that you believed Sean may have broken into my house. You also said that you didn't think that Sean would do that sort of thing alone. I haven't spoken to anyone else, but Sean, I'd really like it if you told me what happened."  
  
Sean didn't like the way Ms. Hatzilakos and Ellie were both staring at him. He sat up a little straighter, and took his hands out of his pockets, "Things haven't been going so well at home. We're having . . .financial difficulties," he could feel the disappointment in Ellie's stare, but he kept going, "I didn't know it was your house. It just looked like a really nice place, and I figured that nobody would notice if a couple things went missing."  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos wasn't buying his story for a second. Last night, she had gone through everything in her house, and found out what was missing. She decided to use this information against him, "Okay. Well, I know you took my charm bracelet, and I can hardly see how it would be worth much, so you must've planned on giving it to Ellie. Which, in my opinion, was a bad move, Sean, because you could've gotten Ellie in trouble. So, what did you steal that was worth anything?"  
  
Ellie noticed Sean's face tense for a second, but it quickly relaxed, "I don't remember. Just punish me how you see fit."  
  
*Oh please. She had to see right through that.* Ellie thought to herself. She waited for Ms. Hatzilakos' to reply. But she just kept staring at Sean, waiting for him to explain himself.  
  
*I should've asked Towerz exactly what kind of "jewelry crap" he stole.* Sean sighed, "Some jewelry crap."  
  
*Well, he definitely was involved. I'm still missing a pair of 18 karat gold earrings, two sterling silver lockets, and a slave bracelet. But he didn't mention my emergency cash in that empty shoe box.*  
  
"Okay, Sean. If you don't tell me who's idea this was, then I'm not only going to punish you, but I will also get Ellie, and Jay," Ms. Hatzilakos felt bad for making such a horrible threat, considering it was a lie, but she didn't know ow to make Sean tell the truth, "I'll give you to the end of the day. Meet me here soon as you get out of seventh period."  
  
Sean grunted as he slid his chair back, and walked out of the room. Ellie smiled weakly at Ms. Hatzilakos before getting up and slowly walking into the hall.  
  
She was surprised when she saw Sean standing outside the door, waiting for her, "Ellie? Do you wanna go outside?"  
  
Ellie glared at him. *I should just say no. I should just walk away. After everything he has done, he still has the nerve to actually consider letting me get part of the blame.*   
  
Yet somehow, she found herself sitting on the bench across the street from the school. Sean reached into his backpack, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. *I actually thought I was better than this.* He offered one to Ellie, who like he predicted, refused.  
  
He lit it with a silver lighter, and took a long drag of it. Ellie rolled her eyes, and waited for him to say something.  
  
Sean finally broke the silence, "Ellie, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you did for me yesterday."  
  
Ellie nodded her head. *If he thinks this is gonna soften me up before he lets me take the blame, he's got another think coming.*  
  
Sean leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his thighs, "When we were in Ms. Hatzilakos' class, I thought Jay would take the blame for me . . ."  
  
Ellie cut him off, "No, he wouldn't Sean," she waited for him to get angry, but he didn't. He just took another drag off the cigarette.  
  
"I know, I know. You're right Ellie. That's why I'm even more grateful I know you. I think you're the only one who would've done that for me."  
  
Ellie wasn't so sure where he was going with this now.  
  
"I'm gonna tell Ms. Hatzilakos the truth. But, that's also gonna mean there's gonna be some people really pissed off at me," he took another puff, "They're not only gonna go after me, though. They're going to come after the people that mean something to me," he scratched his head, "I don't think we should hang out anymore."  
  
"Sean, it's okay, I'll be fine," Ellie tried to reassure him.  
  
Sean shook his head, "You don't know what they're like, Ellie. I don't know how Jay was put in charge. Maybe because he has more than two brain cells left. But it definitely wasn't because he was a badass. There are guys that are thousands of timed worse then Jay that I hang out with, and I don't want them to know how I feel about you."  
  
Ellie smiled when she heard his last words. Sean continued, "So, I'll go to Ms. Hatzilakos after school, by myself. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you, I don't want to know you. Goodbye Ellie Nash," Sean ground out his cigarette, and walked away.  
  
As she watched him walk toward the school, she felt a tears start to roll down her face. Sean entered the school, and turned into the nearest classroom. He made sure nobody else was in there, before locking the door, and letting the tears run freely down his face. 


	16. Threatening Seperations

"Hey, Ellie!" Ashley greeted Ellie as she saw her enter through the double doors. Ashley became concerned when she saw Ellie's bloodshot eyes, "Ellie, what's wrong?"  
  
Ellie managed something of a smile, "I'm fine, Ash."  
  
Ashley looked around to make sure nobody was within earshot, "Ellie, it looks like you've been crying. What happened?"  
  
"Why do you always assume something's wrong Ash? Really, I'm fine," Ellie said it so convincingly, she almost bought it herself.  
  
Ashley still didn't believe her, but she knew that Ellie wasn't going to give in, "Okay. Are you going to the dance Friday night?" Ashley tried to change the subject.  
  
Ellie shrugged her shoulders, "Probably not."  
  
"Ellie, you should come! Craig, you and I can all go as friends," Ashley suggested.  
  
Ellie raised on eyebrow, "Ash, I don't want to be the third wheel."  
  
Ashley was trying to think of a way to respond, when she saw Sean coming towards them. As he passed by, a pained expression crossed his face as he looked at Ellie, "You should go with Sean!"  
  
Ellie just shook her head. *I really don't want to talk about this right now.*  
  
"Ellie, I know his reputation isn't so great right now, but he is really nice. He isn't as 'bad' ad he comes off. He was there for me when I needed him, granted it wasn't exactly the best way to help me . . ."  
  
Ellie cut her off, "Ash, it's fine. I don't really like dances. I should probably try to do some extra credit this weekend, so I don't fail . . ."  
  
Marco approached them, and Ashley remembered that he had wanted to talk to Ellie, "Nash, you're not staying home on a Friday night to do schoolwork. You're coming to the dance."  
  
She walked away, leaving Marco and Ellie to share an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Marco mustered up the courage to say, "El, I'm so sorry."  
  
Ellie wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about. So much had happened since that night, she didn't remember much of what Marco had said, "It's okay."  
  
"I shouldn't have blamed you for the way Jay treats me,"Marco tried to explain, "I was just upset, and I'm sorry."  
  
"Marco, it's fine," Ellie smiled, "I forgive you."  
  
Marco seemed satisfied, and he spotted Dylan down the hall. He waved over his shoulder as he started walking toward Dylan.  
  
Ellie shook her head. She smiled as she watched Dylan and Marco walk off together. Then, she remembered why she felt so crappy. I should find Sean.  
  
"Hey, man," Craig saw Sean exiting a dark classroom, "What're you doing?"  
  
Sean sighed as he tried to walk away from Craig. *I really don't feel like talking to anybody.* Craig didn't seem to pick up on this, so he followed Sean down the hall.  
  
"Are you okay?" Craig was in a great mood, and couldn't understand how anybody else wouldn't be on that beautiful day.  
  
"Class is going to start soon," Sean tried to get rid of Craig, "I should probably get going," he quickened his pace, and Craig finally got the idea, and stopped in his tracks.  
  
*I wonder what's going on wit him.* Craig shook his head, turned around, and walked away.  
  
Emma wandered the halls aimlessly. She wanted to talk to somebody, but she felt as if there was nobody willing to listen. She wasn't on speaking terms with Manny. She couldn't talk to J.T., because he was to busy with the 'popular' kids. She couldn't talk to Toby, because she had the feeling he never really liked Sean. Maybe she could talk to Liberty. They weren't exactly 'great' friends, and she doubted Liberty would understand, but she was better than nothing.  
  
Emma walked towards Liberty's locker, knowing she'd be preparing for the next class. She carefully approached her, "Liberty? Do you have a minute?"  
  
Liberty turned to look at Emma. She wondered what Emma needed, "Yeah, I guess."  
  
Emma smiled, and motioned for them to go into the empty Media Immersion classroom. *Maybe this was the wrong thing to do. Liberty isn't going to want to listen to me.*  
  
Emma shrugged it off as Liberty followed her into the class, "Today I overheard a conversation between Hazel and Jimmy. It was about Sean and Ellie. . ."  
  
Liberty did her best to listen, but inside, she was having conflicting emotions. *Emma only talks to me when she needs something. But then again, maybe she wants to be friends now.*   
  
After Emma had finished explaining, Liberty wondered if Emma had a problem with getting involved with other people's business. *She was the one who started that rumor about me a few years ago. Everybody thought I was involved with a teacher!* The feelings of resentment had returned. Liberty was about to tell Emma to mind her own business for once, but then she saw the pain on her face, "Emma? Are you okay?"  
  
"I still care for him, Liberty. I know he has done some pretty dumb things, but I don't care. I want him to be okay, and I don't think Ellie is the right person for him."  
  
Liberty shook her head, "Do you honestly think that Ellie would be a bad influence on Sean? Especially compared to the other types of people he's been hanging out with?"  
  
Emma was reminded of the time when she had walked by Sean, and saw the obvious hickey on his neck. *Then again, Hazel said she saw Sean and Ellie walking back from his house this *morning*!*  
  
Liberty watched as Emma sighed. *I guess she really does care more about herself than others.* Liberty shook her head, "Emma, you need to learn to mind your own business. Sean isn't your boyfriend anymore. You don't seem to care about him, cause if you did, then you'd want him to be happy."  
  
Liberty turned on her heel and walked out the door. Emma stood there with her mouth slightly open. *She actually thinks I don't care for Sean?* Emma was shocked. *I was right. Liberty wouldn't understand. I do want Sean to be happy, but I really want him to succeed. He'd be happier if he tried harder.*  
  
Emma wasn't exactly sure of what she meant, but she knew that Sean couldn't really be happy when he was hanging out with losers. *Okay, maybe Ellie isn't a loser, but if what Hazel and Jimmy said this morning is true, then she isn't a good influence.*  
  
Emma finally decided to try and let it go. She tried to go on with her day.  
  
Liberty saw J.T. standing at his locker, and she approached him, "Hello J.T."  
  
She had tried to forget about her crush on him, but it was hard. Every smile, every joke, just a single word out of his mouth reminded her of why she liked him.  
  
"Hey, Liberty," J.T. turned, and continued his conversation with Toby.  
  
Liberty didn't like it when he just brushed her off, or ignored her. *I wish I had something worthwhile to talk about.* He never seemed interested when she spoke about school, or extracurricular activities. That's when she remembered.  
  
"Did you hear about Sean and Ellie?" Liberty asked, causing J.T. to turn back around.  
  
Toby's ears perked at the mention of Sean. He was practically over his crush on Emma, he had Kendra now. There was a time when Sean and he had almost became friends. Sean had even stood up for him. Granted, now Sean was friends with the guys that used to pick on him, but he wasn't that jealous of Sean anymore. Now, now he was just plain angry. Emma was still his friend, and when she told him that she thought Sean may have stolen Mr. Simpson's laptop, he got angry. He knew he couldn't beat Sean up, so he had just glared at him occasionally when he'd walk by. Maybe now was his chance for revenge.  
  
"No," J.T. wanted to hear the gossip, but couldn't understand how Liberty had found out before him.  
  
Liberty smirked as she stepped closer to J.T., "You can't tell anyone. I heard that Hazel saw Ellie and Sean . . ."  
  
  
  
Of course, by the end of the day, everybody at Degrassi had heard about Ellie and Sean. Neither one of them had a clue. Ellie was used to people staring at her strangely because of the way she dressed. She didn't pay attention to the obvious whispers about her, because she usually didn't care.  
  
Sean was used to people cowering from him, and getting strange looks, because everybody knew he could kick their ass.  
  
The halls were slowly clearing out as Sean made his way to Ms. Hatzilakos' class. He tried to act nonchalant about the whole ordeal, but inside it was tearing him up. *I should tell her. She deserves the truth, and Ellie doesn't deserve the blame. Who cares what Jay thinks?* Sean gulped. *I do.* He could deal with fighting one or two people at once, but more than that, he was screwed.  
  
Sean took a deep breath as he quickly turned the door knob, and swung it open. He sat down in the chair across from Ms. Hatzilakos.  
  
"Are you here to tell me who else was involved, Sean?" Ms. Hatzilakos asked. *Please tell me. I don't want to punish people who aren't responsible for this.*  
  
"You promise not to blame Ellie?" Sean wanted to make sure this was clear.  
  
"Nope. Just those who were involved," she promised.  
  
"Jay and Towerz," Sean muttered.  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos knew exactly who he was talking about. They were the ones she suspected.  
  
Sean looked frightened as he glanced at the clock, "When are you going to be talking to them?" *Maybe I can get Tracker to pick me up from school tomorrow.*  
  
"Sean, are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Sean lied. *I'll just eat lunch in the cafeteria.*  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos was concerned by the worried look on Sean's face. *I wonder if they might do something to him. Are they a 'gang' or something?* She wasn't so certain of what she should do. *Maybe I should just let him off with a warning. I won't talk to Jay or Towerz at all.* Sean was growing fidgety as he waited to be excused. She got an idea, "Okay. Sean, I get the feeling it would be a bad idea for me to talk to your friends. But I do need my things back. If you can get them back for me, I won't need to talk to them."  
  
Sean decided that was an okay idea. He nodded his head as Ms. Hatzilakos got out a pen and piece of paper. *If I pull this off, then I can be with Ellie!* That was all the motivation he needed. That was his decision. He would get back Ms. Hatzilakos' stuff.  
  
"Here's a list of the things they took from me," Ms. Hatzilakos gave Sean a list she had been writing as he thought, "Just have them back to me by Monday."  
  
Sean nodded, grabbed the list, and slowly walked out of the classroom.  
  
*I hope this doesn't blow up in my face. I'm practically asking a student to steal for me. By the did seem to like this idea better than me punishing Jay and Towerz. Maybe he actually stands a chance . . .*  
  
Sean thought this over. *This could be a good thing. I at least have a chance. Maybe I won't even have to steal it back. I could probably get the things from Towerz. I just need a good plan.* That's when Sean got his idea. *Towerz keeps all of his crap in his jacket. If I can just get that jacket. . .* 


	17. Daring Actions

After serving detention in room twenty, Ellie reluctantly walked home. *I should've stayed at the school, and waited for Sean.* Ellie was angry at herself. *Maybe Ms. Hatzilakos let him off with a warning.* She saw the dark clouds looming over her house. She glanced back down the street. *I should just go back and find out what happened. He might be angry, but I don't want him to get into too much trouble.*  
  
Ellie hesitated. *Sean told me not to talk to him anymore.* She shook her head, and walked up to her door.  
  
  
  
Sean walked down the street, wondering how he would get Towerz' jacket. *He never takes the damn thing off!* Sean began to get frustrated. He let out a deep breath, and tried to decide on his next action. *I want to talk to Ellie.* That was the first thought that came to mind. He tried to think of something else, but all he could do was think about the possibility of being close to Ellie again. *Who the hell am I? I've know her for what? Three days? This is not who I am! I'm not the kind of person who falls held-over-heels!* Sean tried to figure out what was going on with him, but his thoughts were drawn back to Ellie. *I can only see her if I manage to get this stuff back from Towerz, without him finding out it was me.*  
  
Sean pulled the list out of his pocket. His eyes scanned it, and realized there were about five pieces of jewelry, and about five hundred bucks. *Damn! Towerz cheated me! There was no way that he gave me my fair share!* Sean realized that probably wasn't the appropriate reaction. *I don't know how I'll get the money. He spent it. Towerz has a hole in his pocket. If he has fifty cents, he'll find a way to spend it.*  
  
Sean debated whether or not to go to Ellie's. *I shouldn't. It'll just be harder for both of us. There's no way I can get all this back. I'm never going to put Ellie in danger, and if I see her now, I'm going to want to do it again, and then it'll take only one time before the guys catch on.*  
  
To his surprise, he found himself turning down her street. He was about to turn back around, when he realized a red head was coming toward him.  
  
Ellie saw Sean, and ran as fast as she could to him, then jumped into his arms. *It hasn't even been eight hours since I last saw him, and I'm acting like I haven't seen him for years!*  
  
She didn't really care, though, she was just happy to be in his arms. Sean smiled as he slowly let her slide back down onto the ground. As he looked at her happy face, he was suddenly filled with guilt. He looked down at the ground.  
  
Ellie became concerned. *I wonder what happened with Ms. Hatzilakos.* Ellie raised her hand from Sean's shoulder to his face, "Are you okay?"  
  
*No. No I am not okay. I have to steal . . .again.* He knew that's not exactly what Ms. Hatzilakos meant for him to do. *She probably hoped I would explain the circumstances to him, and he would just give the stuff back. But Towerz ain't like that. He doesn't give a crap if he gets in trouble. It'll just be another reason to beat me up.*  
  
Sean wanted to tell Ellie, what he had to do, but he couldn't. She think what he was doing was wrong, and would tell him not to go through with it. That they could still see each other. That even if Jay found out they liked each other, he couldn't do anything to her. And Sean would listen to her. He would listen to her, because the only that mattered was that they were together.   
  
He knew that was wrong. Jay could definitely do things to her. And the only thing that mattered was that Ellie was safe.  
  
Sean nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm . . .fine."  
  
Ellie searched Sean's face for an emotion. *He needs to stop doing that!* She cursed his ability to make his face appear blank and hide his feelings. Ellie waited for him to elaborate, but wasn't surprised when he didn't.  
  
Sean swallowed, "Ellie, ya, I should probably get going . . ." he tried to walk away, but he couldn't, "Do you want me to walk you home?"  
  
Ellie nodded her head, even though her house was just down the street.  
  
They tried to make casual conversation, neither of them bringing up Sean's meeting with Ms. Hatzilakos.  
  
They reached Ellie's house, and she opened the door with her key. As she turned around to say goodbye, she noticed Sean was standing right behind her. His face was darkened by his hoodie that was pulled up.  
  
He got an intense look in his eye as he leaned down to kiss her. Ellie was startled, but quickly adjusted. She could feel something sad about their kiss, and was worried about Sean. He slowly pulled away, and stared at her with desire, "Bye Ellie."  
  
She didn't like the finality in the tone he used. She waited for him to be halfway down the street, before turning, and walking into her cold house.  
  
  
  
*Towerz. Where would I be if I were Towerz? Probably wondering why I don't understand half the things people say.* Sean was trying to figure out where he could find Towerz. He decided he should check The Dot.   
  
A few minutes later, he arrived, and quickly scanned the room for Jay or Towerz. He didn't see either of them, but he did see Craig and Ashley.  
  
They were laughing as he approached their table, "Hey Sean," Craig smiled.  
  
"Hey, man. Have ya seen Towerz anywhere?" Sean was pretty sure they'd say no, but he was surprised when he wasn't answered with yes or no.  
  
"Sean, you shouldn't hang out with them," Ashley pointed out.  
  
Sean raised one eyebrow. *Is she trying to tell me what to do?* He didn't mind the things Ellie said to him anymore. But when someone else brought up how he was better than Jay, he got a little angry.  
  
Craig could see Sean tense, "So . . .you and Ellie are getting close, huh?"  
  
That didn't seem to be the right thing to say either, because Sean quickly looked around before asking, "So you haven't seen Towerz?"  
  
They both shook their heads. Sean huffed and ran toward the door and down the street.  
  
"What was all that about?" Ashley thought aloud. *Why would he be hanging out with Towerz? I thought they didn't get along.* Ashley didn't know a lot about what was going on in Sean's life, but she did know that Towerz and he weren't exactly "best buds".  
  
Craig was still looking toward the door when he heard Ashley speak. *What is going on? I bring up Ellie, and he changes the subject. Something's going on.* Craig asked Ashley, "What does Ellie think of Sean?"  
  
Ashley shrugged, "I don't know. I brought up the dance today, and she kind of avoided it. If she did though like Sean though, I don't think she'd want him to hang out with Towerz."  
  
Craig nodded his head in agreement, "They're keeping stuff from us."  
  
The bell on the door rang, and Craig looked over his shoulder to see if Sean had come back. It was J.T. Craig turned back around, completely uninterested. He didn't understand why Paige wanted J.T. around, but Spinner said that he was there for her last year or something . . . Still, he didn't really like J.T.  
  
He was shocked when J.T. approached their table. J.T. stood in front of Craig and Ashley, grinning like an idiot.  
  
"I found out some very interesting news this today,"J.T. announced.  
  
"And we care because . . .?" Craig knew he was being rude, but he didn't care.  
  
J.T. redirected his attention to Ashley, "It's about your friend Ellie."  
  
Craig became interested, and turned back toward J.T. Ashley was already irritated by J.T., but she wanted to find out what he knew about Ellie. She was afraid that Spinner had told somebody else about her cutting.  
  
"What is it J.T.?" Ashley asked,  
  
"It's very interesting. Though I'm sure it will disturb some people," J.T. thought aloud.  
  
"J.T., what do you know?" Ashley asked in an exasperated voice.  
  
"Sean and Ellie were seen walking from Sean's house, in their PJ's, early this morning," Ashley let out a relieved sigh. *Good, Spinner didn't tell anyone else . . .* Then it hit her.  
  
"J.T., you shouldn't be starting rumors that hold absolutely no truth," Ashley was angry that J.T. would try to ruin Ellie's reputation like that.  
  
J.T. raised his hand in defense, "I'm not the one who started this "rumor" as you call it, but Liberty told me. Like anybody would tell her gossip. It must be true," J.T. explained his logic.  
  
Ashley was surprised. *Liberty? Maybe J.T. is right. . .* Ashley didn't have anything against Liberty; in fact, ever since she taught Liberty how to do the morning announcements, Ashley thought Liberty was an okay person. She just wasn't the person you'd run to if you had gossip.  
  
Craig sat there with his mouth slightly open. *Sean slept with Ellie?* He tried to rid his mind of his first reaction, as Ashley and J.T. spoke. *I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Ashley's probably right. It's just a rumor.* He couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought about Sean and Ellie. *Even if they didn't sleep together, they's still be good for each other. At least Ellie would be good for Sean.*  
  
Craig realized Ashley had stood up, and was looking down at J.T., "Don't talk about things you don't know about," she warned, then turned on her heel and left.  
  
Craig pulled some money out of his pocket, left it on the table, and raised his eyebrows at J.T. before walking out.  
  
Sean turned down an alley. *He lives around here somewhere.* Sean had walked into the main part of town, and was looking for the apartment building Towerz lived in.  
  
Sean emerged out of the alley onto a dark street. There were people huddled together on street corners, and he could tell he was getting close. He walked about two blocks before he heard a familiar voice, "Sean?"  
  
Sean flipped around to see who called him. Someone stepped out of one the groups on the corner, "Jay?"  
  
"Sean, what are you doing here?" Jay was concerned. He knew Sean had only been there once or twice, and both times he had been with him. Too many people who were in the gang hung out down there, and Jay was afraid Sean wouldn't be able to defend himself against them. Jay knew they didn't like Sean, and he didn't mind if they roughed him up time to time; it was kind of like initiation. But in Sean's case, they didn't show mercy. Jay wasn't sure if it was because Sean was younger than them, or if it was because he made Sean his right-hand man. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn't trust the guys alone with Sean down there.  
  
"Hey, man, have you seen Towerz?" Sean asked.  
  
Jay raised one eyebrow. *What does this kid think he's doing. He has to know Towerz hates him.* Jay was about to say no, that he hadn't seen him, when someone spoke up behind them, "Whatta want?"  
  
Jay and Sean both turned to see Towerz staggering up to them. *Is he drunk already?* Sean watched as Towerz acted like he were on a ship sailing across the ocean. He swayed side to side, and Sean couldn't help but wonder if somewhere in his jacket were Ms. Hatzilakos' belongings.  
  
"Whatta want, Sean?" Towerz repeated himself. He was standing next to Jay now, and Sean could smell the alcohol on his breath.  
  
Sean tried to think quickly. *What do I want? What can I say to him? 'Gimme back the crap you stole?'I don't think that'll work.* Sean shrugged his shoulders, and Towerz rolled his eyes as he returned to the crowd of people.  
  
Jay focused his attention back on Sean, "Why do you want to talk to him? You do know that he hates you, right?"  
  
Sean shrugged, "I dunno, man. I just don't think breaking into that house was a great idea."  
  
Jay eyed Sean suspiciously. *I wonder what's going on with him.* Jay turned and followed Towerz back into the group of people.  
  
Sean sighed. *There is no point in even trying! I'm not going to be able to get the money back. Even if I did get the jewelry crap, I still won't have the five hundred dollars.* Sean was about to give up, but he saw Jay, Towerz, and two other guys head into the apartment building behind them.  
  
Sean looked down the street, then back toward the apartments. *Might as well stay.* Sean turned, and followed the guys into the building.  
  
As he caught up with them, one of the guys turned to glare at Sean. Jay noticed, and puled Sean up front with him.  
  
Tower wasn't doing too well, so Jay took the keys from him, and opened the apartment door.  
  
Towerz collapsed onto the couch, and everyone else went into the kitchen. Sean lingered by the sofa for a second. He could tell it was just a matter of time before Towerz passed out.  
  
The guys in the kitchen were talking loudly, so Sean barely heard Towerz mumble, "Sean, help me to my room."  
  
Sean helped him stand up, and led him to his room. He helped Towerz take off his shoes, and slide out of his jacket. Towerz collapsed onto the bed.  
  
Sean looked down at Towerz, and was sure he had passed out. He checked the door to make sure everyone was in the kitchen.  
  
Sean grabbed Towerz coat off the ed, and quickly began to search the pockets for any type of jewelry.  
  
That's when he heard the voice in the doorway, "Sean? What are you doing with Towerz jacket?" 


	18. Taking Risks

Ellie laid on her bedroom floor, trying to finish her math homework. She could hear her mother moaning in the other room. Ellie stood up and put a Three Days Grace CD into her CD player.  
  
Ellie's mind drifted away from her homework as she heard her mom rush to the bathroom. *Why does she do this to herself? Why does she do this to me? I know I'm not exactly the perfect daughter, but I'm trying as hard as I can!* She began to pull her hair. *I don't like her at all! She's a horrible mother!* Ellie couldn't believe she was thinking these things, and began to pull harder on her hair. *What am I doing?*  
  
She let go of her hair, and was startled when she heard her mom retching in the other room. She hated that sound.  
  
Ellie turned the stereo up, and caught the end of "(I Hate) Everything About You".  
  
Only when I stop to think about it  
  
I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
Only when I stop to think  
  
About you, I know  
  
Only when you stop to think  
  
About me, do you know  
  
I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
You hate everything about me  
  
Why do you love me  
  
I hate  
  
You hate  
  
I hate  
  
You love me  
  
I hate everything about you  
  
Why do I love you  
  
Sean dropped the coat and tried to see who the dark shadow in the hall was. *Please be Jay.* Sean thought to himself as the figure entered the room.  
  
Sean shook his head. *Oh crap.* It was Brad.   
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Brad asked as he got closer to Sean.  
  
Sean wasn't afraid of Brad. He had already fought him, and won. But if Brad called the other guys, well, even Jay wouldn't tolerate stealing from another friend.  
  
Sean tried to think up an excuse, "I was just . . ."he punched Brad square on the nose, grabbed the coat and ran.  
  
He knew Jay would wonder why Sean ran out in such a hurry. Jay would probably go into the bedroom, find Towerz sprawled across the bed, and Brad knocked out. *This isn't good. Soon as Brad comes to, he'll tell everyone what happened, and Jay won't want to stop them from getting me. I should've just told Jay what happened in the first place.*  
  
Sean kept checking over his shoulder, until he finally reached his house. He sighed as he opened the door. Sean felt himself turn red with anger. Somebody was sprawled out on the livingroom couch. He clenched his jaw, and approached the person. Sean threw the coat onto the ground. He looked at the coffee table. *Bottles. Of course there are bottles. There's always bottles.* Sean resisted the urge to break the vodka bottle over his father's head. Instead, he carried them to the kitchen, and rinsed the liquid down the sink.   
  
*Where the hell is Tracker?* Sean stomped down the hall to Tracker's room. Nobody was in there. He turned and went into his room. He was about to turn on his stereo, when he heard somebody moan.  
  
Sean snapped around, and found his mom lying on his bed. *Great, this is just great. This is why I moved in with Tracker. To get away from *this** He went to put the trash can beside her, when he noticed she was holding something.  
  
Sean carefully pulled the object out of her grasp, and saw it was his memory book. He glared at his mom for going through his personal property.  
  
*I haven't look at this in forever.* Sean carefully closed the door behind him, and went into Tracker's room. He laid down on the bed, and opened the memory book to the first page.  
  
Sean smiled when he remembered the first day he got the book. He had just moved in with Tracker, and they were feeling uncomfortable around one and other. *It was my first night here, when Tracker came into my room. He kind of shrugged his shoulders, and handed me this package. He said, "To remember the good times." When I opened it, there was a picture of me as a baby, and around it was what seemed to be Tracker's attempt at decorations.*  
  
Sean turned to the next page and saw a photo of himself and Tracker. Sean smiled. *I was about seven when that picture was taken, so Tracker must've been around . . .fifteen. That explains the pissed off expression.*  
  
With every page, and every picture, memories flooded Sean's mind. There were a few pictures of his parents, and still, only happy thoughts filled his mind. Soon, he got to the pages he put together himself. There was one of the pictures Emma's mom had taken on their first date. Sean remembered how many bad things had occurred that night, and yet they still had a good time. *That's what our whole relationship was like. I did a lot of terrible things, but overall, we had a good time.*  
  
Sean looked at a few more pages. The last page had a picture of Craig, J.T., Toby, Spinner, Manny, and himself in it. *Liberty took that picture. She was upset that she couldn't be in it.* He looked at how happy he looked. *That was six days before Emma and I broke up. I wasn't happy. I felt neglected.*  
  
Sean realized he didn't have any pictures after he and Emma broke up. That's when he remembered the jacket. He closed the book, and jumped up to go get the coat off the floor in the livingroom.  
  
He picked it up and looked in one of the pockets. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter. *I should only take Ms. Hatzilakos' belongings. Though I really could use another lighter . . .* Sean reluctantly put it back, and checked another pocket. A wallet. Sean opened it and found two bucks and a ticket stub. *This is just great!* Sean shook his head as he opened another pocket. A necklace. *Okay, getting better.*  
  
Sean finished checking the jacket. One necklace is all he could find. *I'm screwed. He probably sold everything to a damn pawn shop, so he could buy car parts.* Sean was trying to control his breathing. *I'm not going to see Ellie again. If I do, they'll make her life a living hell. I can't do that to her. She's under enough stress as it is. But I don't know how I'll survive without her right now.* He glared at his father passed out on the couch. *I'll find a way to get the money.*  
  
Tracker came home to a quiet house, "Sean?" he called into the dark house. There was no answer, "I got a job," he continued as he entered the livingroom.  
  
He saw his father on the sofa. Tracker shook his head. *I hope Sean didn't see this. He'd be pissed.* Tracker passed by his dad, and went to see if Sean was in his room.  
  
Sean wasn't there, but his mom was. *That's it. They're out of here. Tomorrow.* Tracker closed the door, and went to his own room. There was a book lying on his bed. He recognized it as the one he had made for Sean when he had first moved in.   
  
Tracker opened to the second page, where there was a picture of himself and Sean. *I was so angry Mom made me take that picture with him. I wanted to be as far away from my irritating little brother as possible.*  
  
He looked at the clock on the wall. 2:00 A.M. *Now I just wish I knew where he was.* 


	19. Don't Quit

Ellie couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept well since her dad left, with the exception of last night. She felt safe at Sean's house. Like everything was fine. Which was the exact opposite of what she was feeling right now. *Something's happening. Something bad is happening.* She couldn't tell what it was, but she didn't like it.  
  
Ellie jumped out of her bed and slid on a pair of sneakers. She made sure her mom was asleep in her room, before grabbing a sweatshirt and heading out into the cold, rainy night.  
  
Tracker sat at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee. *I wonder if he went to that girl's house that stayed here last night. What was her name?*   
  
Somebody moaned on the couch. Tracker grabbed the wastebasket from under the sink, and set it in front of his father.  
  
*Soon as they wake up, they're gone. Why were they even in Toronto? Wasaga Beach is almost three thousand miles from here.*  
  
Tracker became suspicious, and was startled when there was a knock at the door. He looked through the peephole, and saw a soaked girl standing outside.  
  
He quickly opened the door, and ushered the girl inside. As she removed her hood, he recognized her as the girl that had slept over.  
  
"I'm sorry for coming by so late . . .is Sean here?" The girl asked.  
  
"Hi, I'm Tracker," he introduced himself pointedly.  
  
"Oh,"she shook his hand, "I'm Ellie. We kinda met a couple days ago."  
  
Tracker nodded, "So why are you here so late? Or early," he added as he looked at the clock.  
  
"I just wanted to talk to Sean," Ellie didn't want to go into too many details.  
  
Tracker knew there was something else going on, "He's not here. I kind of figured he would've been with you."  
  
Ellie took a deep breath. *He wouldn't be with Jay? Would he? That would just be stupid. Jay would kill him. Sean told Ms. Hatzilakos that Jay was involved. Right? . . .*  
  
"He's probably out with some of his friends," Tracker tried to reassure her. *She looks so worried.* When he said that, she looked even more concerned.  
  
"Ellie, do you know what Sean's up to?" he asked.  
  
Ellie shook her head, and put her hood back up, "No, you're probably right. I should be going."  
  
She ran outside before Tracker could stop her.  
  
Sean stared up at the dark building. *I hope Jay will hear me out.* He went inside, and ran up the stairs to Jay's floor. *Which one is it?* He couldn't remember which apartment belonged to Jay. His parents were hardly ever home, which explained why the place was so messy. The last time he had been in there, there were ants crawling all over, and it smelled like crap.  
  
Sean heard the faint sound of music coming from down the hall. He knocked on the door from which it was coming from.  
  
The door was swung open, and the smell of smoke and alcohol drifted out, "You little bastard," Sean looked at person who had opened the door. It was Brad, "You screwed my face up!" He said as he motioned to his nose.  
  
"Believe me, it was an improvement," Sean commented as he shoved Brad aside, and went into the apartment.  
  
*I have to find Jay.* Sean noticed people staring at him as he pushed his way through the crowd with Towerz' jacket.  
  
He found Towers lying on the couch with a beer in his hand. *He doesn't waste any time, does he?* Sean threw the jacket at Towerz, and kept walking.  
  
He finally found Jay standing in the kitchen with Brad. He watched as Brad spotted him, and pointed a long, bony finger at him. *Oh crap.*  
  
Jay shoved people out of his way, as he tried to get to Sean. Sean let Jay grab him by his hood, and drag him out into the hall.  
  
Jay shut the door so nobody else would be able to see what happened.  
  
Jay took a deep breath, "What the hell is your problem?"  
  
Sean raised one eyebrow, "You're not gonna try to hit me?"  
  
Jay shook his head, "Been there. Done that. As I recall, I lost, right?" He crossed his arms, "Seriously, Sean, what is going on?"  
  
Sean shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno what you mean Jay."  
  
"The other night. We stopped by like we said we would. You weren't home."  
  
"I was with a few of my old friends," Sean defended himself.  
  
Jay ignored his comment, "We catch you hanging out with those homos," Jay pointed out.  
  
"I was just talking with them."  
  
"Then we make a couple jokes about that freak show you were with, and you completely lose it."  
  
"She's my friend, and I don't like it when people mess with my friends," Sean clenched his jaw.  
  
"And neither do I. So what the hell were you thinking when you stole Towerz' jacket?" Jay asked, remaining calm.  
  
"She knows," Sean said simply, "She knows we stole from her house."  
  
It took Jay a second to comprehend, "Who told her? Sean, if you were the one that ratted us out . . ."  
  
Jay wasn't too concerned. Nobody really cared what he did. His parents hardly even knew he existed, much less cared what he did.   
  
But Towerz hated Sean. If he got in trouble for something Sean said, he would make sure Sean's life became a living hell.  
  
Sean looked at the ground, "If I can get her back the stuff we took, she says she won't tell anyone. Jay, you have to help me."  
  
Jay shook his head, "No. I've saved your ass enough times. But here," he handed Sean a silver slave bracelet, and about two hundred bucks, "Don't tell anybody. I don't want them to think I've got favorites,"he said over his shoulder as he walked back into the apartment.  
  
Sean slowly made his way back down the stairs, and out onto the street. *Okay. I have a total of two-hundred-fifty-two dollars, a silver locket, and a bracelet. Maybe I can do this.*   
  
Ellie sat on the livingroom couch as lightning flashed outside. She stared at the TV which wasn't even turned on. *Would he really have been stupid enough to go and see Jay? I know I don't completely understand what Sean likes about Jay and the gang, but he thinks they empathize with him. I wish he knew he was better than them. I wish he would realize that the things he does affect others.*  
  
The lamp that sat on the table beside the couch shut off. It brought Ellie out of her daze, and she stood up to turn on the light. She flipped the switch. Nothing happened. *Great. This is just great. The power's out.*  
  
Ellie knew it would only take a couple seconds before she'd notice the electric heater had turned off, so she grabbed a comforter off her bed. As she passed by her mom's room, she noticed her mom was on top of the covers. Ellie sighed before grabbing two blankets out of the hall closet, and covering her mom up.  
  
She threw her comforter on the couch, and went to the kitchen to grab a couple candles and a lighter.  
  
She lit a few vanilla scented candles in the livingroom, and as she put the candles back in the emergency cupboard, she saw a sewing kit.  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip as she looked around cautiously. *What's the point in even looking. Nobody's here. Even if someone was, it's not like they'd care.*  
  
She snatched the sewing kit off the shelf, and returned to her spot on the couch. She pulled a needle out of the packet, and pulled her sleeve back. *I don't want to bother people with my problems. They have more important things going on in there lives. Ms. Suave shouldn't even waste her time.*  
  
Ellie hesitated for a second before pulling the needle against the underside of her arm, and relaxing as she saw the satisfying sight of blood coming to the surface.  
  
A/N:  
  
Hey! Sorry I haven't updated in so long! We had this dance at school that I helped plan and decorate, so that took some time. I'm supposed to be finishing my report on John Greenleaf Whittier, but I'm kinda procrastinating . . .  
  
Anyway, I still think I have the best reviewers ever! Quick thanks to: PsYcHoJo, quiet110, dancewithme2006, musikchik, JustAnotherDream, and Poppyseed. You guys are awesome!  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	20. Offering Help

Sean walked down the wet sidewalk and looked toward the sky. He tried to find some stars, but it was too cloudy. Sean remembered when he used to walk over to Emma's and they'd sit outside looking at the stars. *She told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. All I needed to do was try. What was her favorite saying? "Reach for the moon; even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." * Sean smiled fondly at the warm memories. Then he remembered the day they broke up. *She called me pathetic. I don't know why I got so angry with her. I mean, she was right. I am pathetic. Aren't I? *  
  
Sean noticed he was passing by a dark house that he recognized as Ellie's. *I wonder if it's too late to stop by. * He jogged up the walk to the porch. He knocked twice and waited.  
  
Ellie was starting to drift off to sleep, when she heard somebody knock at the door. She rubbed her eyes groggily, but quickly jumped to her feet. She cautiously pulled back a corner of the curtain to see who was at her door. Ellie let the curtain fall back into place as she moved her hand toward the doorknob. She was just about to turn it, when she let her hand slip from the knob. She bit her lower lip, and slowly slid down the door into a sitting position. There were two more knocks, and Ellie winced as she heard them. She heard the sound of retreating footsteps, and she closed her eyes. *He doesn't need my problems right now. He has enough to deal with. *  
  
"Sean! If your ass isn't in that bed, I'm gonna kill you!" Tracker's voice carried down the hall.   
  
Sean opened one eye sleepily. He started to close it as he watched Tracker stomp into his room, "You gotta go to school."  
  
"Tracker, leave me alone," Sean mumbled as he rolled over. *What's the point of even going? *  
  
Tracker sat down on the end of Sean's bed, "Look, lately I don't know what has been going on with you. I figure it has something to do with the people you've been hanging out with. That Ellie girl seems nice, so I don't think it has anything to do with her. I just don't understand how you did this . . . this 180. When you were always over at Emma's, you seemed to have gotten over everything in Wasaga Beach," Tracker shrugged his shoulders, "Man, it's up to you. If you wanna stay home, fine. I'm going to spend all morning getting mom and dad out of the house, but then I got to get to work." He stood up and left before Sean could even turn to look at him.  
  
Sean rolled out of his bed and onto the floor. He heard somebody vomiting in the bathroom. Sean flinched as he heard the familiar sound. *Maybe I should just go to school. I can find Ellie, and see how she's doing . . . * Sean's eyes opened wide. *Wait, Tracker can't even remember if he ate breakfast; how can he remember Ellie?*  
  
Sean got to his feet, and walked out into the kitchen, "Tracker?" He called. He saw Tracker standing at the kitchen counter reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand.  
  
Tracker looked up from the paper, "Are you going to thank me for sleeping on the floor so mom could have my bed and you got yours back?"  
  
Sean raised one eyebrow, "Yeah, thanks."  
  
Tracker shook his head and went back to reading his paper. Sean grabbed a mug out of the sink, and washed it out, "How do you know Ellie seems like a nice person?"  
  
Tracker took a sip from his coffee, "She stopped by last night looking for you."  
  
Sean stopped scrubbing the cup, "What?"  
  
Tracker turned to look at his little brother, "Last night . . .ya know, when you were in that place with no phones?"  
  
Sean rolled his eyes as he faced his sibling, "I'm sorry about that. Did she say why she stopped by?"  
  
"Just looking for you, I guess," Tracker shrugged his shoulders, and picked up his paper.  
  
Sean walked across the small kitchen, and pushed the newspaper down, "Tracker, this is important. Why did she stop by?"  
  
Tracker glared at Sean, "Excuse you?"  
  
"Fine, whatever. Don't be a good brother. I gotta go," Sean started to walk toward the door.  
  
"I don't know why I would even say this, considering I'm a "bad brother", but you might wanna change before you leave."  
  
Sean walked back towards his room, where he found his mom lying on his bed. He scowled as he grabbed some clothes out of his dresser, and walked back into the livingroom, "They better be gone when I get home," he warned his brother. He changed into a pair of baggy blue jeans, and a wife beater. He tied a blue bandana around his head, and walked toward the door.  
  
"You're going to school right?" Tracker asked as Sean grabbed his sweatshirt and opened the apartment door.  
  
As Sean was about to close the door behind him, he replied, "Eventually."  
  
Ellie stood in front of her bathroom mirror putting on her eyeliner. *Today is going to be a good day.* She told herself. After school she had her co-op job, and that was the only thing that was going to get through the day.  
  
She froze with fear as she heard the door downstairs open. Ellie carefully crept out of the bathroom, and stared down over the banister. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the top of a blue bandana; but almost as soon as she felt better, she realized he wasn't the person she really wanted to see.  
  
Ellie tried to sneak back into the bathroom, but she had been spotted, "Ellie?"  
  
She heard this feet bounding up the stairs, and turned to look at him, "Hey Sean."  
  
She managed a weak smiled, but Sean could sense something was wrong, "What's going on Ellie?"  
  
"Nothing," Ellie responded quickly, "I'm just getting ready for school," she motioned to the bathroom where her eyeliner was sitting on the counter.  
  
Sean shook his head, "Tracker told me you stopped by last night."  
  
Ellie wasn't sure how to respond. Sean tried to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look at him, "Is something wrong?"  
  
Ellie managed to shake her head, and looked him in the eye, "Of course not. Why would anything be wrong?"  
  
Sean opened his mouth to say something, but Ellie cut him off, "We should probably get to school."  
  
She walked back into the bathroom and put her eye-makeup back into her makeup bag. As she was about to walk out, she noticed a bobby-pin sitting on the counter. Ellie checked to make sure Sean couldn't see into the bathroom. She grabbed the bobby-pin and slipped it into her pocket.  
  
She smiled at Sean as she saw him waiting by the stairs. When she saw the distressed look on his face, she knew he was going to ask her something.  
  
"Let's go," she tried to brush past him but he grabbed her arm. She couldn't hep wincing as his fingers touched her most recent cuts.  
  
She looked at his face to see what his expression was. She watched his temples bulge out as he clenched his jaw. His face slowly relaxed as he tried to control his temper, "Ellie, did you cut last night?"  
  
Ellie looked up at him and slowly nodded her head. Sean tried to cover his anger at himself. *If I would've been home when she needed me, she wouldn't have done this.*  
  
"Come on, we need to go," Ellie walked away from him and down the stairs. She checked in on her mom before they went out onto the street. They walked to school in silence.  
  
Manny spotted Craig walking down the hall. She had to run to catch up with him, "Hey Craig."  
  
Craig turned around slowly, fearing the voice that had called him. He tried to smile as he looked around cautiously, "Manny."  
  
Manny glanced at the ground when she noticed Craig was making sure nobody was paying attention to them, "I heard you and Ashley are back together."  
  
Craig ran one hand through his hair, "Um . . .yeah, I guess we are."  
  
"Do . . .do you think we could . . .talk? I mean, later?" Manny seemed very uneasy, which was starting to scare Craig.  
  
"Manny, are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice.  
  
She attempted to smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
Craig could tell she was lying, but he figured there was no point in trying to drag information out of her right then, "Okay, you wanna stop by tonight?"  
  
Manny nodded her head, "I'll be over around seven."  
  
They parted ways, and as Manny turned the corner, she almost ran right into Ashley.  
  
Sean felt really nervous as he walked into Ms. Hatzilakos' class. *I hope she doesn't bring anything up.* He was glad when the class went by without incident.  
  
Lunch was going to be a different story. He could feel it. *They're gonna come looking for me. Towerz and Brad are both gonna be angry.* Soon as the bell rang, he went straight to the computer lab.   
  
He knew exactly what he wanted to research online. *At least I can get something productive done.*  
  
  
  
Ellie watched the clock as she waited for detention to be over. *I wonder where Sean's been all day.* Since she was in a grade higher than him, they didn't have any classes together, but she had went looking for him at lunch, and she couldn't find him. She was beginning to get worried that Jay had done something to him.  
  
Finally, the clock showed it was time for detention to let out. Ellie jumped out of her seat, even before the detention teacher said they could leave.  
  
As she ran out of the school's double-doors and down the school steps out onto the street, she heard somebody yell, "Ellie!"  
  
She turned to watch as Sean ran down the steps, and caught up with her. He was holding a plastic bag in his hands, and as he approached her, he put it behind his back, "I got you something."  
  
Ellie smiled, "What is it?"  
  
Sean seemed kind of excited, "Close your eyes and put out your hands."  
  
Ellie couldn't believe how he was acting, but she decided to go along with it anyway.  
  
She felt the plastic bag being set in her hands, "Okay you can open them."  
  
Ellie opened her eyes, some of Sean's excitement had rubbed off on her, so she was a little disappointed when she saw te bag of rubber bands she held in her hands, "Rubber bands?"  
  
Ellie flipped it over, making sure there wasn't some kind of joke written on the back. There wasn't, "How . . .romantic," Ellie said sarcastically.  
  
Sean grabbed one of her hands, and started walking. *Maybe this wasn't such a good idea* He knew he's have to explain himself, so he began, "Well, today during lunch, I went online."  
  
"So you were in the MI class," Ellie said, answering her own question from earlier.  
  
Sean nodded, "Well, anyway, I went to this SI website, and looked at some ways of kicking the habit."  
  
Ellie nodded, vaguely remembering something Ms. Suave said about using certain ways to stop cutting.  
  
"Well," Sean continued, "I read about this one thing called 'Elastic Therapy'. You're supposed to put a rubber band around your wrist, then anytime you feel like cutting, you just snap the elastic against your skin."  
  
Sean watched as Ellie thought this over. *Why did I do that? I wouldn't want somebody to interfere with my problems.*  
  
To his surprise, Ellie opened the bag and picked through the colored bands until she found a red one that matched her outfit.  
  
"Cool," she said, "Where did you get these?"  
  
Sean looked away from her, "They had them in one of the office cupboards."  
  
Ellie smiled, "For office personnel only."  
  
Sean shrugged, "I didn't see a sign."  
  
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long! The internet wasn't working, so my parents took it to a repair place or something, and they erased everything on my computer! That really sucked. But anyway, I'll try to update as soon as I can!  
  
Thanks to: JustAnotherDream, Mari, musikchik, PsYcHoJo, Poppyseed, Kaz, Quiet110, BlackRose666, yayiluvit, and krys. You guys are wonderful for reviewing! 


	21. Turn Around

After Sean had walked Ellie to her co-op job, he started on his way to his own house. *I wonder if Tracker had kicked them out yet. * Sean began to pick up his pace at the thought of having his house back.  
  
He took a deep breath before opening the door to his apartment. To his surprise, the place was clean. All the bills that were scattered on the counter were gone. The clothes that had been all over the floor had disappeared along with his parents' suitcases.  
  
"Hey little bro," he heard Tracker's voice coming from the bathroom.  
  
Sean walked down the hall, and found his brother scrubbing the toilet, "Tracker . . . uh, what are you doing?"  
  
"What does it look like? I'm cleaning," Tracker answered.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Tracker stopped moving the brush, and turned to look at his brother, "I've always thought that no matter what I did, you'd be better off living with me than Mom and Dad. Then they were here, and I realized that I hadn't really been trying to raise you better than Mom and Dad did. So, today, we are starting over. We'll have dinner at six thirty every night, and I'll try to make breakfast every morning. We'll divide the chores between us, and we might actually be able to keep the place clean."  
  
Sean still wasn't sure what was going on with his brother, and he wasn't certain he liked the sound of 'chores' but it seemed like his Tracker was trying to act grown up, "Okay, well I just came to drop off my bag, I'll be back later."  
  
Sean started to turn around, but stopped when he heard his brothers voice, "Where are you going?"  
  
"Out," Sean answered.  
  
"Who will you be with?" Sean turned to look at his brother.  
  
"With friends."  
  
"What will you guys be doing?" Tracker questioned.  
  
"Have you been watching a lot of TV?" Sean asked.  
  
"I'm supposed to know where, who, what, and when. Questions: The anti drug," Tracker repeated from the commercial.  
  
"Ya, whatever. I'll see you later Tracker," Sean walked out.  
  
Tracker called down the hall, "Be back before ten, it's a school night!"  
  
Sean couldn't help but smile as he shut the apartment door behind him.  
  
Ellie sat at her desk in her 'office'. She looked through a few papers Caitlin had left on her desk. Most of the papers had phone numbers of people Ellie needed to call to schedule interviews with. After she had sorted through the papers, and organized them according to what needed to be done first, she saw a file that was left on the ground marked 'Nash, Ellie'. Ellie opened the folder, and pulled out the one paper that was inside. It read:   
  
Hey Ellie,  
  
I'm really busy today, so I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you about this in person. We have an extra five minutes for the next show and we need filler. I've been hearing about things going missing at DCS, and I wanted to know if you could come up with a story about it. Here's a folder to put any information you find in. Maybe you could even come on the show and report it!  
  
Thanks,  
  
Caitlin  
  
Ellie smiled at the thought of getting to be on TV. She was excited about getting to do an investigative report, and couldn't wait to get started. It wasn't until she read the not over again that she realized what she was supposed to do.  
  
*Sean. I can't do this to Sean. Especially not after everything he's done for me. * Ellie sat down on her chair. *She'll fire me. Can she fire me? This is a co-op, not a job. She'll want to at least know why I can't do it. I can't tell her. * Ellie's mind was racing, and she reached into her pocket.  
  
She grabbed the bobby-pin, and pulled up her sleeve. She was about to drag the pin across her arm, when she noticed the red rubber band. She had a moment of internal struggle, before putting the bobby-pin back in her pocket, and pulling up on the rubber band. She let it drop, and it snapped back into place against her skin.  
  
It wasn't quite as satisfying as cutting was, but Ellie knew she was trying to do something right. She pulled on the elastic again. Another snap. She repeated this a few more times, until a red mark was visible on her left wrist.  
  
She took a deep breath, and pulled her sleeve back down. *I'll tell Caitlin tomorrow that I can't do the story. *  
  
Craig glanced at his watch as he waited in the garage. It was 7:05, and still no sign of Manny. Finally he saw her walking up the driveway. As soon as she came in, he pulled the garage door down.  
  
"Hey Craig," Manny whispered.  
  
"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Craig asked quickly.  
  
Manny sat down on the couch and looked around nervously, "Well, I uh, I haven't been feeling so well lately . . ."  
  
Craig wasn't exactly sure where this was going, but he didn't like it.  
  
"I think I'm pregnant," Manny said quickly. *He's going to hate this. Why did I even tall him? *  
  
Craig fell back on the couch next to her, "You think . . . or you know?"  
  
Manny nodded her head, "I know. I talked to Spike a couple days ago. She's helped me a lot."  
  
Craig nodded his head, and tried to stay calm, "So Spike knows?"  
  
Manny nodded her head.  
  
"Have you told your parents yet?" Craig asked while he stared straight ahead.  
  
Manny turned her body toward Craig, and tried to make eye contact with him, "Yeah, I did. They took it a lot better than I thought they would."  
  
Craig could hear her voice waver, and he realized that she needed him. He took a deep breath before looking at her. He reached one hand out, and gently held hers, "What do you want to do?"  
  
Manny started to feel a little better, knowing Craig was there with her, "After talking it over with Snake, and my parents, I think . . ." But when she saw the expectant look on his face, she realized she wasn't feeling as well as she thought, "What do you think Craig?"  
  
"Well, I always wanted to have kids, I didn't think I'd be so young, but so what?" Craig looked at Manny. She didn't seem too thrilled, "Well, I guess we could always put it up for adoption . . ." he waited for her expression to change. It didn't. *She can't be thinking about abortion, can she? * But he could tell by the way she was looking at him that she was.  
  
"Craig, I'm only fourteen," Manny tried to stress this point, "I can't have a baby. Even if we were to put it up for adoption, I'd still have to carry it," she felt weird using those words. It was like she was playing house, only in a seriously demented way, "And think about the people at school. What would they say?"  
  
Craig unconsciously let go of her hand, "Why did you even stop by if you had already made up your mind?"  
  
Manny folded her hands in her lap, "You're apart of this so I thought you should know."  
  
"But I shouldn't have a choice in what happens to my baby?" Craig asked her as his voice began to raise.  
  
"Craig, sh . . . please, Joey might hear," Manny begged him to be quiet.  
  
Craig stood up, "Well, he's going to hear about it anyway. You wonder what the people at school would say if you were to have the baby. You don't worry about what they'll say when they find out you got an abortion?"  
  
Manny shook her head, "Nobody else has to know . . ."  
  
"They will Manny!" He cut her off. Manny winced as he yelled, "It doesn't matter if we don't tell anyone, they'll find out!"  
  
Craig finally realized the silent tears that were streaming down Manny's face. He felt guilty, so he back down next to her, and held her tightly to him, "Sh . . . it's okay Manny. Joey couldn't have heard me, he's not even home."  
  
Manny tried to smile, "You couldn't have told me that before I freaked out?"  
  
She slowly sat back up, and wiped her tears away, "I just want this to be over, Craig."  
  
Craig nodded his head, "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"  
  
Manny hesitated, "It's what's best for us."  
  
Craig doubted those were Manny's words, but he didn't want to upset her again, "Okay then. Well, where do we go from here?"  
  
"My mom scheduled an appointment for me on Friday," Manny informed him.  
  
"What happens at the appointment?" Craig asked.  
  
Manny shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I don't think I want to know. It's just all so scary, and it's happening so fast."  
  
"Do you want me to come with you?" Craig offered.  
  
Manny looked up at him, "You wouldn't mind?"  
  
"Of course I wouldn't. Your dad won't kill me, right?" Craig asked jokingly.  
  
Manny smiled, "I don't think so. So, just walk home with me after school on Friday, okay?"  
  
Craig nodded his head as she stood up. They walked over to the garage door, which he lifted up for her, "I'll see you tomorrow," Manny said as she walked away.  
  
Craig pulled the garage door back down. As he walked back into the house, he thought about Friday. *The day after tomorrow. I need to talk to Manny more to make sure this is what she wants. *  
  
When he walked by the calendar, he almost had a heart attack. On Friday, January ninth, written in red ink, and circled numerous times, were the words: SCHOOL DANCE!!  
  
Sean had visited what seemed like hundreds of pawn shops, and though he wasn't sure if the jewelry he bought had once belonged to Ms. Hatzilakos, it matched the description pretty well. He had gotten both the silver locket, and the gold pair of earrings. Of course, when he bought these back, the money he had dropped from $252 to $175. Now, all he needed was $345.  
  
He checked his watch. 9:45. Sean smirked. *Well, Tracker has been acting considerate lately, so I might as well go home.  
  
He got home at 10:01, where he found Tracker sitting on the couch, snoring loudly. *I'm glad to see he's concerned. * Sean thought sarcastically to himself as he covered Tracker up and shut off the TV.  
  
Sean picked up the cordless, and dialed Ellie's number. He was happy when she picked up, and they talked for almost two hours. Elli would mention her father every now and then, and Sean would listen intently. Anytime Sean brought up a happy memory of his family, Ellie would return the favor.  
  
It was a little after midnight by the time Sean crawled into bed. For once, he felt like things could be getting better.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey everyone! Just wanted to thank Justanotherdream, PsYcHoJo, Krys, and musikchik for reviewing! My birthday was last week, and my friends and I went to the ice skating rink and played Broom Ball! Anyone who hasn't played before you should try it. That game is awesome! We played for two hours! Okay, well, I'll update as soon as I can!  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	22. Empty Confessions

Craig hadn't slept all night. He was trying decide whether or not to tell Joey. *I'll have to tell him. How much is thing going to cost? Will they want me to pay for half of it, even though I'm against it? What about Ash? I'll have to tell her I can't go to the dance. I have to tell her why. She's gonna be pissed. It's probably best I tell her the truth, right?*  
  
He turned down Ashley's street. He had decided to tell her before school, so he could get it over with. He saw her house, and took a deep breath before walking up to the door. He knocked swiftly, and waited for someone to answer.  
  
Ashley swung open the door, and smiled when she saw him, "Hey Craig! You're here early!"  
  
"Ashley, can I talk to you?" Craig could barely recognize his own voice.  
  
She didn't like it when he used her whole name. That usually meant something was wrong. Ashley's eyebrows came together in an expression of confusion, "Sure, come in."  
  
She moved aside so he could get in. He walked into the livingroom and sat down on the couch, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his thighs.  
  
She sat down beside him, and waited for him to say something. Nothing came, "Craig? You're starting to scare me . . . what's the matter?"  
  
Craig let out a shaky breath before turning his head to look at Ashley, "I messed up."  
  
Ashley still wasn't sure what he was talking about. Then it clicked. *Yesterday I almost ran into Manny. She was walking away from him . . .* Ashley's eyes opened wide, "Is this about Manny?"  
  
Craig slowly nodded. He was a little shocked that she knew, "How did you find out?"  
  
Ashley looked away from him, "Craig how could you?"  
  
"I don't know," he hung his head, "I don't know how I could screw up so badly!"  
  
Ashley was surprised by the way he was acting, "Why are you even telling me this? Why don't you just keep it secret like you did last time?"  
  
Craig lifted his head, "Last time?"  
  
"Yeah, last time," by the clueless expression on his face, she asked, "Aren't you seeing Manny again?"  
  
Craig sat up straight, "No, Ash, I'd never do that again!"  
  
Ashley let out a sigh of relief, "Then what is it Craig?"  
  
He fell back into his slouching position. Back to square one, "Manny's . . . Manny's pregnant."  
  
Ashley's head snapped toward him, "What?" She barely whispered.  
  
He nodded his head, "I can't go with you to the dance tomorrow because she has to see a doctor about the abortion."  
  
Ashley was blinking fast, "You, you slept with her?"  
  
"I told you I screwed up," Craig admitted.  
  
She watched as a tear rolled down his face, her anger slowly slipped away, "Craig, are you okay?"  
  
"I don't think she's making the right choice," Craig said.  
  
"Craig she's fourteen! Of course she's making the right decision!" Ashley defended Manny.  
  
"I know, I know. But don't you think it would be better to put it up for adoption?"  
  
Ashley thought about it. *It probably would.* Ashley nodded her head, "But it's her body, so ultimately, it's her decision."  
  
"Yeah, but truthfully? I don't think it was her decision. I think it was her parents'," Craig admitted.  
  
Ashley looked at the clock, "Craig we should get to school."  
  
*Was that it?* Craig wasn't sure what had been decided as he stood up, and was pushed out the door by Ashley.  
  
"Bye Mom!" She called over her shoulder as she closed the door behind them.  
  
"You actually made breakfast?" Sean said, slightly impressed.  
  
Tracker smiled as he flipped the last egg out of a pan and onto a plate, "Yes, and don't sound so surprised. When I say I'm gonna do something, I do it."  
  
Tracker handed Sean the plate, "Unlike you, who was supposed to be home at ten, and . . ."  
  
"Was," Sean interrupted before Tracker could finish, "Well, I was home at about ten. And you would've know that, if you could've kept yourself from falling asleep in front of the TV. You party animal."  
  
"Busted," Tracker replied as they sat down at the table, "You need to hurry up, otherwise you'll be late for school."   
  
"Yeah, I better get going," Sean stood up, not having touched his breakfast.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Tracker called after him, "Sit back down and eat your breakfast!"  
  
"No, I don't have time. I'm going to walk Ellie to school," Sean grabbed his sweatshirt, and left.  
  
"Well that was a waste," Tracker said as he threw his napkin down.  
  
Ellie sat on the livingroom couch, watching the morning news. Last night she and Sean made plans to walk to school together. The whole time she was on the phone with him, she had been snapping the elastic around her wrist. She couldn't tell him about the story Caitlin wanted her to do, even though she was turning it down, because she knew he'd overreact. She realized that Sean would blow up the smallest of things, and right now, he had enough things to deal with.   
  
She heard her mom stumbling to the bathroom and couldn't help but want to be out of there. *Sean, where are you?*  
  
Her question was answered when she heard a knock at the door. She jumped off the couch, and ran to the door.  
  
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Sean asked Ellie.  
  
She nodded her head, and grabbed her coat and backpack that were sitting by the door as they walked out.  
  
"So . . . any tests today?" Sean asked as he held Ellie's hand.  
  
She shook her head, "No, not today."  
  
"Do you wanna skip?" Sean asked hopefully. *I managed to stay away from the guys yesterday, but maybe I won't be so lucky today.*  
  
Ellie smiled, "I have detention after school, and just because I don't have any tests, doesn't mean I can afford to miss school."  
  
Sean nodded, "Yeah, what was I thinking."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence between them as Sean let Ellie's hand drop from his. *Eventually they'll forget about me. I mean, why waste their time beating up me, when they could be out getting arrested?*  
  
Sean heard a snapping noise, and turned to look at Ellie. She was pulling at the elastic band around her wrist, "Does it help?"  
  
Ellie let go of the rubber band, and glanced at Sean, "Does what help?"  
  
"The elastic therapy?"  
  
Ellie smirked, "I guess it does, I didn't notice I was doing it."  
  
Sean took her hand again as they came to the crosswalk. Ellie saw Jimmy and Hazel standing in front of a poster for the upcoming dance. *They're probably going to the dance together. That's so cute.*  
  
Sean noticed where Ellie was looking, "What are you thinking about?"  
  
Ellie was pulled out of her happiness for them, and realized who was talking to her. *He wouldn't want to go to the dance with me. That's not the type of thing Sean would want to do.*  
  
Ellie put on a disgusted face, "I was thinking about how dumb this "Winter Wonderland" dance is. I mean, we're at school for seven hours a day, and they actually expect us to come back to watch as all the girls cry because a certain boy won't dance with them. That right there is bad enough, but then you have the lack of uniqueness in the title of "Winter Wonderland". And don't even get me started on . . ."  
  
"Ellie, do you wanna go to the dance?" Sean interrupted her.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sean smiled at her as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders.  
  
"I'm turning into such a girl!" Ellie laughed as they entered the school building. 


	23. Final Realizations

Sean walked Ellie to her locker and waved goodbye as he walked to his own locker. He dropped his bag to the ground while he turned his combination. Sean got out the books he needed, and slammed the locker's door shut.  
  
*I should go find Ellie.* He started to walk back the way he came, when he saw someone standing by the water fountain.  
  
It was Towerz. He slowly started walking towards Sean with an evil glare in his eye, "Jay says you won't be around much anymore."  
  
Sean kept a stern expression on his face, "What of it?"  
  
"I was thinking about pounding you into the ground," Towerz began.  
  
"But then you realized you'd have to get off your lazy ass," Sean interrupted.  
  
He was silenced by a threatening glare from Towerz, "But, if you're not going to be pestering me anymore, then I guess I can let this one go."  
  
Sean nodded his head, and thought it best to keep quiet. Towerz turned and started to walk away, then stopped and called over his shoulder, "But Cameron, if you ever touch my crap again, I swear to God I'll hunt you *and* your girlfriend down."  
  
Sean waited till Towerz was out of sight to let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. *Okay, well, there goes one of my problems.*  
  
  
  
Ellie slammed her locker shut, "Hey El."  
  
She watched as Ashley slowly approached her with a fake smile plastered on, "Ash, what's the matter?"  
  
Ashley attempted to laugh, "Nothing."  
  
"Ash, I know a fake smile when I see one," Ellie looked concerned.  
  
"Well, you're not the only one going to the dance alone," Ashley admitted,  
  
Ellie felt her heart drop. Her eyebrows came together, "What? I thought you were going with Craig?"  
  
Ashley nodded, "I did to. But I should've known better. Craig and I will never work out," Ashley looked down at her feet, then back at Ellie, "But we could go alone together."  
  
Ellie felt like the worst person in the world. *I can't do this to her. She's there for me when I need her . . .* Ellie bit her lower lip, "Actually . . . Sean asked me this morning . . ."  
  
"Ellie! That's great!" Ashley interrupted her.  
  
"But I could just tell him . . . " Ellie began.  
  
"No, no, no. I'll be fine! This is great Ellie!" Ashley's smile was painted on again.  
  
Ellie watched as he friend backed away, the entire time promising her she was fine. Ellie rolled her eyes as Ashley disappeared around the corner. *I am a horrible person. I just blew off my best friend for a guy.*  
  
Ellie was still watching the corner when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist. She couldn't help but smile as Sean rested his head on her shoulder.  
  
"Hey," he said, "Class is about to start, do you want me to walk you?"  
  
Ellie nodded her head as Sean let go of her. He stood beside her, and grabbed her hand as they began to walk down the hall.  
  
"Hey Manny!" J.T. greeted as he leaned against the lockers, "What are you doing?"  
  
She was sitting on the floor leaning back against the lockers. J.T. slid down next to her when she didn't answer, "Manny? Class is about to start."  
  
The bell rung soon as he finished his sentence. She had her head in her hands, and he couldn't see her expression, "Manny, we need to get to class."  
  
"J.T., just leave me alone," she finally replied.  
  
J.T. laughed, "I would, but then I wouldn't be me. Remember? I'm that annoying kid always following you around."  
  
"What? No laugh? Well, now you're starting to make me uncomfortable," the tardy bell rang, "Manny, we really need to get to class, or at least out of the hallway."  
  
He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't answer, he grew impatient, "Okay, if you're not gonna move, I'll move you."  
  
And with that, he grabbed the little ball she was rolled up into, and picked her up. Manny almost screamed as she was lifted in the air. She kept her face hidden from him on his shoulder. *How could J.T. pick me up? He can barely hold a baseball!* Manny relaxed as she felt herself being carried away.  
  
*What am I doing?* J.T. thought to himself. *She still isn't gonna want to talk to me. I should've just left her alone. Too late now.*  
  
He felt something wet seeping through his shirt. He turned his head to see Manny's face buried in his shoulder. *Is she crying?*  
  
J.T. knocked on the girls' bathroom door. He didn't hear any movement, so he carefully pushed the door open.  
  
He set her down on top of the counter. She kept her face down, "Manny? What's wrong?"  
  
Manny sniffled, "I screwed everything up. He's right. Everybody will find out, and then they'll make fun of me."  
  
J.T. wasn't sure what she was talking about, but immediately defended her, "Nobody could ever make fun of you, Manny."  
  
Manny looked up at J.T. for the first time that day, "I just wanted him to like me. To appreciate me the way he did Ashley."  
  
Slowly the pieces started to come together, "Is this about Craig? Manny, did he do something to you?"  
  
He was already planning ways to kill Craig. J.T. was relieved when Manny shook her head, "I did this to myself. I should've known better."  
  
He waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn't, he asked, "Manny? Are you the reason Craig and Ashley broke up?"  
  
He immediately regretted what he said as he watched another tear fall down her face. She nodded silently, and J.T. had to take a step back. *She has changed. Not just in her appearance either. The Manny I knew a couple years ago would never be capable of something like this.*  
  
He managed to keep his thoughts to himself as he patted her shoulder, "Everything's okay now. I think Craig and Ashley might be getting back together. I heard they were going to the dance together tomorrow."  
  
Manny looked at him in complete horror, "Manny? What is it?"  
  
"The dance is tomorrow?" J.T. nodded.  
  
He had planned on asking her, but it never seemed to be the right time. He thought about asking her right then, but before he could, she said, "I'm going to ruin it for them again."  
  
"What do you mean?" Manny just shrugged, "Why would you want to do that, Manny? I thought you were just crying because of last time. Why would you do it again?"  
  
"J.T., I'm pregnant," Manny confessed. She wasn't certain what made her do it, but she had to tell him.  
  
For the second time that day, he had to take a step back, "What?"  
  
Manny nodded her head slowly, as she looked back toward the ground, "Craig said he was going to go with me to the doctor tomorrow. But I can't let him. He and Ashley should be together."  
  
"Why are you going to the doctor?"  
  
Manny took a while before she answered, "I'm getting an abortion."  
  
"Oh," J.T. said simply.  
  
They sat in silence, both of them thinking of what to do next. J.T. finally spoke up, "I could go with you."  
  
Manny looked up at him. He had his hands in his pockets, and was staring at the ground, "J.T. you don't have to. You probably have a date for the dance."  
  
He shook his head, "Actually, I was planning on asking you."  
  
"Well, if you want," Manny shrugged, "That would be really nice."  
  
J.T. looked up and smiled at her.  
  
"I'll tell Craig at lunch," smiled as he helped her off the counter, "Now we should probably get to class."  
  
Sean walked through the cafeteria. *I haven't been here for a while.* Sean had been spending most of his lunches with Jay and the guys. He looked around trying to find a place to sit, when Craig waved him over.  
  
"Hey," Craig greeted.  
  
Sean nodded to him as he sat down. They ate in silence, until Sean saw the empty look on Craig's face. He couldn't help but notice that Craig seemed a little distracted, "What's going on?"  
  
"Huh?" Craig answered, "Oh, nothing."  
  
Sean raised his eyebrows as he took a bite out of his vegetarian burger. He attempted to make small talk "I asked Ellie to the dance. She said yes. I think I've finally found somebody who understands me. Not like Jay and the guys either. I think she actually knows me better than I do," Sean smiled and shrugged, "I dunno if that's even possible. Considering we haven't known each other very long . . ." Craig was smiling, then his face fell. He wasn't looking at Sean anymore. Sean realized Craig was looking over his shoulder. He turned, and followed Craig's gaze to Manny, who was waving at him.  
  
Sean shook his head as he looked back at Craig, "What is she doing?"  
  
"Umm. . .yeah. Sean, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," Craig grabbed his book bag and the remains of his lunch as he took off after Manny.  
  
*What the heck is going on with them?* Sean returned to his lunch. A few seconds later, somebody sat down across from him.  
  
He looked up, and saw Marco. The scowl on his face was worse than the one that usually there when he saw Sean, "Hey, Marco."  
  
"Is it true?" Marco asked.  
  
Sean set the burger down as he raised his eyebrows, "Is what true?"  
  
Marco let out a frustrated sigh, "Come on Sean! It's been around the entire school. Now just tell me the truth. Is it true?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sean asked. Marco didn't answer. He just continued to stare at him.  
  
"Fine," Marco finally gave in, "But I swear to God if I find out you took advantage Ellie . . ."  
  
He left before Sean could say anything. *Did he just threaten me?* Sean couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Marco trying to fight him. Then suddenly everything Marco had said became clear. *Take advantage of Ellie? Everyone in school thinks I slept with Ellie?*  
  
Somebody plopped down next to him, "Hey."  
  
He smiled as he heard Ellie's voice, "What're you doing?"  
  
"Eating lunch," Ellie answered obviously as she took a bite out of the salad she had.  
  
"Salad? That's not real food. That's rabbit food," Sean joked.  
  
"Well, I like it," Ellie informed him, "Besides, I'm a vegetarian and they're out of vegetarian burgers."  
  
Sean smiled as he handed what was left of his burger to Ellie.  
  
"No. I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat," Ellie thought he hadn't understood.  
  
"I know what that means," Sean laughed, "I don't eat meat either. It's vegetarian."  
  
Ellie smiled as she accepted the burger, "How has your day gone so far?"  
  
That's when he remembered. *She must not have heard the rumor yet. Should I tell her?*   
  
Ellie waited for him to answer. *He's sitting there with a blank expression* Ellie waved her hand to get his attention, "Sean? How is your day? It's not that hard."  
  
"Ellie," Sean started, "There's a rumor going around school that we slept together."  
  
Ellie finished chewing the food in her mouth, "Did you start it?"  
  
"No!" Sean immediately denied it.  
  
Ellie looked over his face, "Okay."  
  
"What?" He was surprised about her nonchalant attitude.  
  
"I said okay," Ellie repeated, "I mean, as long as you didn't start it, why should I care?"  
  
*Wow. She is so different from most girls. If this had happened when I was going out with Emma, she would've found out who started the rumor, and then yelled at me for not stopping it.*  
  
Sean smiled, "What're doing after school?"  
  
"Well, first I have detention,"she glared at Sean, "But then I have to go to my co-op."  
  
Suddenly, she remembered the assignment Caitlin had given her. *I'm not going to do it. There's no reason to tell Sean about it. I don't wanna get him worked up for nothing.*  
  
Yet, she felt she had to tell him the truth. She didn't want to keep things from him anymore. She opened her mouth to explain, but Sean cut her off, "Marco's pissed. He heard the rumor. I think he believes I took advantage of you or something."  
  
Ellie smirked, "Marco's a good friend. He watches out for me, even when I think he's busy doing other things."  
  
Sean thought about how Ellie had gone out with Marco, well, supposedly. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you know Marco was gay when you two were dating?"  
  
Ellie nodded. Sean was somewhat shocked by this discovery, "Didn't it hurt knowing he wouldn't ever like you in that way?"  
  
Ellie shrugged, "It's not that he *wouldn't*, it's more like he couldn't. But yeah, it did hurt."  
  
"Then why do it?"  
  
"Because he was my friend, and he needed me," Ellie answered simply.  
  
Sean stared in amazement at her, "Would you do that for me?"  
  
"Yeah," Ellie smiled, "If you ever come out of the closet, I'll pretend to be your girlfriend."  
  
Sean couldn't help but laugh, "No. I mean, if I needed you, would you be there?"  
  
"Of course," Ellie stared him in the eyes. *He really does have attachment problems, doesn't he?*  
  
The rang, signaling the end of lunch, "Walk you to class?"  
  
Ellie accepted his offer as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.  
  
A/N: Hi everybody! I just wanted to give a quick thanks to: EgyptianPrincess, justanotherdream, PsYcHoJo, chocl8chps, JaslovesSean, musikchik, and Mrs. Sean Cameron. You guys rock! Unfortunately, Pentagame tryouts start this week, so I won't be updating for a while.  
  
Thanks to everybody who's reading this story!  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	24. Second Chances

"Manny, I already talked to Ash. It's okay," Craig tried to explain to her. *I have to go with her. I need to take some responsibility.*  
  
Manny shook her head, "I can't let you come Craig. I've already ruined things between you and Ashley once. I'm not going to do it again."  
  
Craig tried to protest. He couldn't think of anything, so he asked, "So you plan on going just with your parents?"  
  
"Not exactly," Manny began, "J.T. said he'd go with me."  
  
"J.T.?!"Craig was shocked, "You told J.T.?"  
  
"You told Ashley!" Manny defended herself. She gave a frustrated sigh, "Okay, Craig, I don't want to fight about this. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow and you're not coming. It's up to whether or not you go to the dance, but you and Ashley deserve a second chance, and I'm not going to ruin it."  
  
Manny turned on her heel and walked down the hall.  
  
After school, Sean caught up with Ellie as she exited the building, "Hey El!"  
  
Ellie smiled as she waited for Sean to catch up.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you to your co-op job?" Sean asked.  
  
Ellie's smile faded as she nodded her head, "Sean?"  
  
"Yeah?" Sean answered as he shoved his hands further in his pockets.  
  
"Caitlin assigned me a story," Ellie began warily, "She even wants me to report it."  
  
"Ellie! That's great!" Sean wrapped an arm around her, "You get to be on TV!"  
  
Ellie nodded her head slowly, "Yeah, but I don't think I'm gonna do it."  
  
Sean looked down at her, "Why not?"  
  
She snapped the rubber band around her wrist, "The story, well, it's supposed to be about things 'disappearing' at DCS."  
  
She felt Sean loosen his grip, "Like I said, I'm not going to do it."  
  
Ellie waited for him to say something, "Sean?"  
  
"Does she know who was behind it?" Sean asked quietly. He knew he would get into serious trouble if someone found out that not only had he stolen Mr. Simpson's laptop, but it was his idea.  
  
Ellie thought this over. *I don't think she knew. If she did, she would've told Mr. Simpson by now.* Ellie shook her head, "No, she doesn't know."  
  
"Do you wanna do it?"   
  
Ellie looked up at Sean whose face was grim, "I already said I wasn't going to."  
  
"I heard you. But that's not what I asked. I asked if you *wanted* to," Sean clarified.  
  
Ellie shrugged, "Well, if it wasn't on this topic, then yeah. I mean, I would get to be on TV, and I've always wanted to be a reporter."  
  
Sean nodded, "Can you ask for another assignment?" Sean asked.  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"Maybe if you could come up with a better segment, she'd still let you report it," Sean suggested. He felt terrible for keeping Ellie from doing what she wanted, but he thought that maybe his idea would work.  
  
"Maybe," Ellie said, "What do you think would be a better idea?"  
  
*What would make a more interesting story than teen theft at school?* He heard a snapping sound and looked down at Ellie as she subconsciously pulled at the elastic on her wrist, "What about . . . coping methods?"  
  
Ellie stopped and looked up at him, "So, your problems are supposed to be kept secret, but I'm supposed to broadcast mine?"  
  
Sean quickly defended himself, "No, that's not what I meant at all. I just thought that maybe you can help other kids who are having problems. You don't even have to admit that you . . ." His voice trailed off.  
  
*Maybe it would be a good thing to do.* Ellie sighed, "Okay."  
  
"Okay?"  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I don't want other people to make the same mistakes I did."  
  
They approached the building and Sean gave Ellie a reassuring kiss before she walked in through the doors. *Okay, now I gotta go find some money!* Sean thought to himself as he watched the door close behind her.  
  
Ellie walked down the hall, and set her backpack in her office. She took a deep breath before walking back down the hall, and knocking on Caitlin's door, "Come in."  
  
Ellie opened the door cautiously and found Caitlin sitting at her desk going through piles of papers.  
  
"Oh, hi Ellie," Caitlin smiled as she gestured to a chair, "Have a seat."  
  
Ellie hesitated before sitting down, "So did you get my note? I haven't really had a chance to talk to you about it."  
  
"Actually, that's kinda why I needed to talk to you," Ellie said slowly.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah, I thought that maybe there was another topic I could report on," Ellie shrugged.  
  
Caitlin smiled, "Do have any suggestions?"  
  
"Well, maybe we could do a segment on the different ways teens deal with their problems."  
  
Caitlin nodded, "If you think you would do a better job reporting on this subject, then go for it."  
  
Ellie smiled. *Caitlin's so nice.* She stood up, "Thank you Miss Ryan."  
  
"Anytime Ellie," Caitlin answered as Ellie closed the door behind her.  
  
  
  
*Okay. I'll go home, drop off my backpack, and then go . . . Where am I going to go? How am I going to get $345?*  
  
Sean opened the door to his apartment, and found Tracker sitting on the couch, "Man, shouldn't you be at work?"  
  
"No, you should've been home an hour ago," Tracker said, "Where have you been?"  
  
"I waited for Ellie to get out of detention, then I walked her to her co-op," Sean explained as he dropped his bag by the door, "I'll be back in a couple hours."  
  
"Stop," Tracker demanded, "Have you done your homework?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well then, you're not going anywhere."  
  
"Listen, I have some really important things to get done. I'll do my homework when I get back."  
  
"Fine. I'll let you go," Sean started to open the door, "Soon as you tell me what is so important."  
  
*Crap.* Sean slammed the door shut and grabbed his backpack before walking to his room.  
  
Tracker sighed before getting up and following him, "I still want to know."  
  
*I might as well tell him. What is he gonna do? Yell at me?* Sean sat down on the edge of his bed, "I need to get some money."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, there was this teacher at my school, and she . . . loaned me some cash," Sean lied.  
  
"For what? Lunch? Here" Tracker pulled five bucks out of his pocket and handed it to Sean, "There, now do your homework."  
  
Sean took the money and opened his bag. Tracker still didn't think Sean was telling the whole truth, so he asked, "This isn't about lunch money, is it?"  
  
Sean sighed, "No."  
  
"Then why do you need to leave?" Sean set his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward with his head down.  
  
"Well, this teacher at my school, she kinda, well, her house was robbed a few days ago," Sean began. He felt Tracker sit down on the bed next to him.  
  
"Did you have anything to do with it?"  
  
"Why would you ask something like that? You think I'm the kind of person that would steal from a teacher?"  
  
Sean wasn't sure why he was getting so angry, but by the way Tracker had said it, it seemed like it was the behavior he expected from Sean.  
  
"Just answer the question Sean," Tracker stared straight ahead, "Did you have anything to do with the robbery?"  
  
Sean looked down at the ground. He could hear Tracker sigh. *Great. At least I know I'm good at one thing. Disappointing people.*  
  
"Okay, how much?" Sean's head snapped up as he heard Tracker reaching for his wallet.  
  
"Umm . . ." Sean hesitated. *Is he actually planning on paying off my debt?* Sean sucked it up, "$340."  
  
He felt Tracker stop dead. Tracker slowly closed his eyes, "Sean," he spoke slowly, "I have one question. Why?"  
  
Sean opened his mouth, but nothing came out. *Why?* He stared intently at the carpet while he tried to think of the answer. *I know I had a reason at the time. It was a good one too.*  
  
Tracker grew tired of waiting, and finally gave in, "Okay, I'll get the money. But that's it. Sean, I said we were starting over. I guess will wait to start over until I give you the money. But after that, I don't wanting you hanging out with that Jay guy and the rest of the thugs. Go back to having friends your own age. Like Emma. She was a good influence."  
  
Sean rolled his head back, "Yeah, I kinda screwed that up. We haven't exactly been on speaking terms lately."  
  
Tracker nodded, "Well, that Ellie girl, she seems to really care about you. Maybe if you don't act like a complete jackass, she'll stick around."  
  
Tracker smiled, but his expression faded when he saw Sean's face, "Bro, it was a joke."  
  
"But it's true," Sean shrugged, "I always screw things up. I know it. You know it. Eventually Ellie will too."  
  
"Dude, I'm not going to feel sorry for you," Tracker smiled, "You're a 95% good guy. It's only when you let that tiny part of you take over when you act like an inconsiderate dumbass."  
  
Sean stood up, "Yeah, well, I'm gonna go see if Ellie wants me to walk her home."  
  
Tracker grinned and stood up too, "See, at least 95% good," they walked out of the room, and Tracker called to Sean before he walked out the front door, "You're doing your homework soon as you get back. I'll have that money for you tomorrow morning."  
  
Sean smiled at his older brother before opening the front door, and stepping out.  
  
  
  
Ellie put her first draft of the segment into her folder. She couldn't help but be proud of herself for getting so much done in that short period of time. Her smiled faded when she realized that it was time to leave. *Now I get to go to my warm, cozy home.*  
  
Ellie put everything away, and walked to the door. She turned off the light, and was about to close the door when she felt arms snake around her waist.  
  
She was startled at first, then she heard him whisper, "Guess who?"  
  
Her fears of going home vanished, and she smiled to herself. She wanted to stay there forever. Just freeze time.  
  
Somebody walked by, and cleared his throat as he saw them standing together. Ellie expected Sean to pull away, and was surprised when he didn't.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked after the guy walked away.  
  
Ellie nodded her head, and missed the comfort of his arms as he pulled away.  
  
Sean grabbed her hand as they walked down the hallway together.  
  
"So, what have you been up to?" Ellie asked as they ambled down the street hand in hand.  
  
"Yeah, it's been so long since I last saw you," Sean remarked sarcastically, "I had an interesting conversation with Tracker."  
  
"Really? You guys didn't seem that close."  
  
Sean shrugged, "I didn't think we were. I just kinda . . . well, he listened. I didn't think that he would really care about my problems. I guess it's just the new and improved Tracker."  
  
"Maybe it's not," Ellie suggested, "Maybe he was there all along, and you just never really tried to talk to him. I always wanted somebody I could talk to about serious things."  
  
"Maybe you already do."  
  
Ellie smirked, "I mean, I would really like it if they were related to me. We'd share a special bond."  
  
"I know what you meant,"Sean stopped walking, and stared straight ahead, "People can surprise you."  
  
  
  
Ellie opened the door to her house, and even though Sean had been there before, she still felt ashamed.  
  
She saw her mom sitting on the couch, leaning against the arm, watching the evening news.  
  
Ellie gave Sean a weak smile and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. She hadn't really tried to speak to her mom since her dad left.  
  
Ellie realized that Sean was right. She hadn't given her a chance.  
  
Sean gave Ellie a hug, and she nodded as he pulled away. He closed the front door behind him, and Ellie stood staring at the back of her mom's head.  
  
"Hi Mom," Ellie said kind of loud. She wasn't sure if her mom was awake or not.  
  
Ellie walked around to the front of the couch, and sat down next to her. She bit her lip, wondering what to say.  
  
"I might get to be on TV," Ellie smiled.  
  
"Eleanor, you're giving me a headache," her mom waved her hand at Ellie.  
  
*Yeah, right, talking to her really helps.* Ellie thought to herself as she stood up and began to walk to her room.  
  
"Eleanor give me the bottle sitting on the counter," her mom ordered.  
  
She sighed as she walked over to the counter, and grabbed the new bottle of vodka, "Here Mom," she handed her the alcohol.  
  
Ellie slowly walked to room, counting down the days till she would be out of the house.  
  
A/N: Hey! Thanks to everyone who is reading this story! And a very special thanks to: JustAnotherDream, write more!, Cindy, Dark Gothic Rogue, DeathSighter, and musikchik! I wouldn't be keeping up with the story if it wasn't for you guys!  
  
~*~Sammi~*~ 


	25. Finally Safe

"Here," Sean woke up as something was thrown at him, "Now don't screw up again," Tracker warned as he walked out the door.  
  
Sean opened his eyes, and saw the wad of money lying next to him. Well, at least it's over. He rolled out of bed and started to get ready for school.  
  
One of Ellie's eyes cracked open as she heard the menacing sound of her alarm clock going off. She slammed her fist down on it as she slowly sat up in bed. Ellie made her way to the kitchen, where she found her mom sitting at the table, leaning over a cup of coffee.  
  
"Morning Mom," Ellie tried to smile. She brushed past her mom, and walked toward the toaster. She went to grab a piece of bread, but saw a plate with buttered toast on it. She looked back at her mom, completely mystified.  
  
"Your dad called this morning," Ellie was surprised when she heard her mom speak, "He said he would be coming home in two weeks. He says he's worried about me – us."  
  
Is that why she made me breakfast? Ellie grinned as she took a bite out of her toast. He's finally coming home!  
  
Sean knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. I hope she hasn't left for school yet.  
  
Soon the door was flung open and Sean stood face to face with a very flustered Ms. Hatzilakos, "Sean? How did you find my house . . ." She let her voice trail off, "What're you doing here?"  
  
"I thought I should return these to you," he handed her the bag containing her belongings, "I think everything's there."  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos smiled at him, "Thank-you Sean for correcting the mistakes of your friends. You really are a good guy at heart. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to get to work. Do you need a ride?"  
  
Sean shook his head, "No thanks, I think I'll walk."  
  
Ms. Hatzilakos said goodbye and hurried to her car. Sean smiled. Twice in two days I've been called a good guy. Maybe I am not as bad as I think.  
  
Ellie opened the door just as Sean was about to knock, "Hey, do you wanna walk to school?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," as Ellie closed the door behind her, Sean saw her mom sitting on the couch drinking coffee.  
  
"Is your mom . . .doing better?" Sean chose his wording carefully.  
  
Ellie looked back at the house and smiled, "I think so. My dad's coming home."  
  
"Ellie! That's great! Things are finally starting to go your way, huh?" Sean wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  
  
Ellie grinned wide, "I really hope so."  
  
"Hey,"J.T. greeted Manny, "Everything okay?"  
  
Manny nodded, "I told Craig to go to the dance with Ashley. I told him I'd be fine because you'd go with me."  
  
J.T. wasn't sure what to think by the tone she was using, "Well, that's good, right?"  
  
Manny shrugged as she closed her locker, "Yeah, I mean, I wanted him to choose her, right? I wanted him to be happy, and he can't seem to be when he's with me. So, yeah, I guess it's good."  
  
"I'll be there for you Manny. Whatever you want to do, I'll be there," J.T. smiled.  
  
"Okay, yeah, you'll be there. My parents will be there. And everything will work out just fine."  
  
J.T. was starting to get worried by the way she was talking mostly to herself, "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"  
  
"Well, my parents said it was the best thing. I mean, they've protected me all my life. They know what's best for me."  
  
"Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?" J.T. asked, "Parents don't always make the right decisions. Even though most of the time they act like they're from a different planet, they're only human. They make mistakes too."  
  
"For some reason that isn't very comforting," Manny said as she walked away.  
  
"Ash!" Craig called after her.  
  
Ashley turned back to see who was calling her. She contemplated whether or not she should wait for him.  
  
"I really need to talk to you," Craig looked around, and led her into an empty classroom.   
  
"What is it now, Craig?" Ashley asked.  
  
He took a deep breath, "Manny told me she didn't want me to go with her to the doctor today."  
  
"What did you do?" Ashley immediately jumped to conclusions.  
  
"I don't think I did anything! She said J.T. was going to take her. I mean, come on! J.T.?"  
  
Ashley rolled her eyes, "She probably didn't want to ruin our relationship . . .again!"  
  
"I don't know what I should tell her. I really wanna go to this dance with you, but I have to be there for her."  
  
"Listen, she did this to make it easier on you. While I am completely against her letting you off the hook, that's what she's doing. She even found somebody else to take her, so she won't have to go with just her parents. Craig, maybe you should talk to Manny, and find out what she wants you to do. Though it's fairly obvious."  
  
Ashley turned and walked out of the classroom without saying another word.  
  
"Hey," Sean greeted Ellie at lunch with a kiss, "How are you?"  
  
Ellie bit her lower lip and looked up at him, "I think I'm actually . . . happy."  
  
Sean wrapped his arms around her waist, "That's always a good thing."  
  
"Yeah, it is," Ellie smiled, "So, what time does the dance start?"  
  
"Uh, I'm not sure. Probably 'round seven," Sean shrugged.  
  
"So . . . do you wanna hang out till then?" Ellie asked.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking about spending some 'family time' with Tracker," Sean admitted.   
  
"Oh, well, that's cool," Ellie tried to act nonchalant, "I'll see if Ash wants to do something until then."  
  
"I'll pick you up at your house at seven, okay?" Sean said. Ellie started to open her mouth, but Sean started talking again, "It's always boring the first thirty minutes. Might as well show up a little late."  
  
Ellie smiled and shook her head as the bell rang, "Walk me to class?" She asked.  
  
Sean hooked arms with her and they walked down the hall.  
  
"Manny!" Craig whispered loudly. He had told his teacher that he had to use the restroom, but on the way, detoured to Mr. Simpson's class, where Manny sat at her desk listening intently.  
  
He stood outside of the classroom, and flailed his arms as he whispered, "Manny!"  
  
Finally she noticed him. Maybe I should just pretend I didn't see him. She realized that wasn't an option when he caught her stare. She sighed loudly before raising her hand, "Mr. Simpson, can I use the restroom."  
  
"Yes, but make it quick Manny," Mr. Simpson warned as he continued on with the class.  
  
She walked a little further down the hall and Craig followed her, "What do you want?"  
  
"Manny, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Craig asked slowly.  
  
"I'm positive, I want you to go to the dance with Ashley, and J.T. volunteered to go with me to my appointment."  
  
"That's not what I meant."  
  
"Then what did you mean?" Manny was starting to get frustrated.  
  
"Do you really want to go through with the abortion?" Craig kept eye contact with her.  
  
Manny looked down at her feet, "Yes."  
  
"Hey Ash," Ellie met her at her locker in between classes.  
  
"Hey El."  
  
"Are you doing anything after school today?" Ellie asked.  
  
Ashley sighed audibly, "I don't know. I think I'm just going to lock myself in my room and wait for Monday."  
  
"I thought you were going to the dance with Craig?"  
  
"So did I," Ashley slammed her locker shut, "I guess he had other plans."  
  
Ashley walked away before Ellie could finish talking to her. Well, I guess I'll just have to spend some quality time with my mom tonight.  
  
"Hey, Tracker," Sean called into the livingroom as he threw his stuff down on the ground. Where is he? "Tracker?" He called again. Still no answer. He rolled his eyes before walking into the kitchen. There was a Post-It stuck to the fridge.  
  
It read: Sean–  
  
I have to work an extra shift. I don't think I'll see you before your dance. Have a good time!  
  
Tracker  
  
P.S.  
  
DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!  
  
Sean laughed as he read the note. Well, now I guess I can call Ellie . . .crap, she's hanging out with Ashley. I guess I'll just have to spend some quality time with the tv tonight.  
  
"Hi," J.T. squeaked as Mr. Santos opened the door, "I was supposed to go with Manny to . . ."  
  
"Manuela! Your little friend is here!" Mr. Santos shouted, the entire time staring at J.T.  
  
Manny pushed past her dad, and stood in front of J.T., "Should we go?"  
  
Her dad nodded, as her mom stepped outside with them holding all of their coats. Her dad shut the door and glared at Manny and J.T. as they walked off the front porch, "Everything's going to be alright, I promise," J.T. whispered into Manny's ear as they walked toward the car.  
  
"Before you slam the door in my face, please hear me out," Craig said in a long breath as Ashley opened the door, "I made a complete ass out of myself. I shouldn't have cheated on you in the first place, but I can't change the past. But if I could, believe me, I would do it in a second. Since you actually gave me a second chance, I felt that I would be screwing up again if I didn't take responsibility for my actions. I messed up. I needed to deal with the consequences. But I also need to go on with my life. I had to show you how much I cared. I thought I could balance the two, but I guess I couldn't. So, yet again, I screwed up. But after all the mistakes I've made, I found there's only one thing I need. You. You're all I need."  
  
Craig tried to read her expression, but she had a poker face.  
  
"Ashley Kerwin, will you go to the dance with me?"  
  
"Hey," before Sean could say anything else, Ellie was kissing him.  
  
After she pulled away, he smiled, "What was that for?"  
  
She grinned and grabbed his hand as she led him inside. The place was . . .clean. There weren't any empty bottles on the floor, old food cartons on the coffee table, or dirty clothes on the ground.  
  
"Ellie? What's going on?" Sean asked. He was surprised that there was actually a light in the house. Usually, it was always dark, but that evening, there were lamps on, and the main light was turned on too.  
  
"He's coming home sooner."  
  
"How much sooner?" Sean started to get as excited as Ellie.  
  
"Tomorrow." Ellie was grinning from ear to ear and Sean picked her up and swung her around the room.  
  
"Ellie that's great!" They were both laughing as he put her back on the ground. He finally took a step back as he noticed what she was wearing. She had on a long red dress that went at an angel past her knees. The sleeves flared at her wrists, and she was wearing red heels. Her hair was curled loosely around her face, and she wore only a touch of make-up.  
  
"Wow," was all Sean managed to get out.  
  
Ellie started to blush when she realized Sean was talking about her, "My mom's pretty cool when she's not drunk."  
  
"Where is she now?" Sean asked.  
  
"I think she's sleeping in her room," Ellie shrugged, "These things take time."  
  
Sean nodded, "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Ya, I just need to grab my coat," Sean reached for it first, and helped her put it on.  
  
After the doctor had finished describing the procedure, Manny sat in complete horror. They hadn't let J.T. go in with her, and now she was wishing they had.  
  
As she followed her parents out of the room, she heard J.T. whisper to her, "Did everything go okay?" Manny shrugged, "Are you sure you still want to go through with it?"  
  
"Positive," Manny said assertively.  
  
"Do you wanna talk?" J.T. asked her.  
  
"Do you wanna listen?"  
  
J.T. nodded.  
  
From across the room, Emma stared at Sean as he laughed with Ellie. She couldn't help but smile when she saw how happy they were together. She's good for him. I'm glad he's found happiness.  
  
"Hey Emma," Chris smiled his huge smiled, "Do you wanna dance?"  
  
Emma had heard he had broken up with his girlfriend, so she figured, why not? "I'd love to."  
  
He held her close like he was afraid she'd slip away if he loosened his grip. He whispered into her hair, "I'm so gld you gave me another chance, Ash."  
  
"Me too," she looked around to make sure there weren't any chaperones watching as she reached up to give him a kiss.  
  
"Ellie, do you wanna dance?" Sean asked.  
  
"Are you sure you're not 'too tough' to dance?" Ellie laughed.  
  
"Well, I am, but I'll make an exception for you," Sean smiled.  
  
He led her out onto the dance floor, and held her tightly against his chest and whispered, "I'll always be here for you."  
  
Ellie knew nothing in her life would ever be perfect, but at that time, it didn't matter.  
  
And I'd give up forever to touch you  
  
Cuz I know that you feel me somehow   
  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
  
And I don't want to go home right now   
  
And all I can taste is this moment  
  
And all I can breathe is your life  
  
Cuz sooner or later it's over   
  
I just don't want to miss you tonight   
  
And I don't want the world to see me   
  
Cuz I don't think that they'd understand   
  
When everything's made to be broken   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming   
  
Or the moment of truth in your lies   
  
When everything feels like the movies   
  
Yeah, you'd bleed just to know you're alive   
  
And I don't want the world to see me   
  
Cuz I don't think that they'd understand   
  
When everything's made to be broken   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
And I don't want the world to see me   
  
Cuz I don't think that they'd understand   
  
When everything's made to be broken   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
And I don't want the world to see me   
  
Cuz I don't think that they'd understand   
  
When everything's made to be broken   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
I just want you to know who I am   
  
**THE END  
**

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I rushed the ending, but summer has started, and I needed to finish this story before I got too busy. So I apologize if you feel the ending has completely ruined the rest of the story.  
  
I want to thank everyone who has read this story, and especially all those who have reviewed! You guys are great!! Thank you :JamiesAngel2008 , emotionless screamer, musikchik, yayiluvit, poppyseed, chocl8chps, emm11, X Confused Girl X, Allie, Merfyman, amber1134, EgyptianPrincess, Uhm, Baddaboom95, sayinjinj7, PsYcHoJo, SktzoStylz, Ali-Chan1, Michelle, MariCareBear, Ellectra, BaLLin BaBi GrL, PinkMandi86, JaslovesSean, EvenAngelsFall22, krys, imlovingit, degrassian, Deadly-Secret, Amber, swizzbeatz, Quiet110, dancewithme2006, JustAnotherDream, Mari, Kaz, BlackRose666, Marie, Jamie, RelientKroxmysox721, ....., Mrs. Sean Cameron, write more!, Cindy, Dark Gothic Rogue, DeathSighter, orange crush3, konstantinex and Sean/Ellie Fan.   
  
I hope everyone enjoyed the story and has an awesome summer! 


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